Twelve Years Later
by Ellie Parker
Summary: Max and Fang went through a lot, and when their first child finally comes, what happens when someone from the past starts to awaken some old feelings? And who does the second child truly belong to? And who is De – Ja - Vu?
1. Prologue

**Okay, so here it is! The first chapter of Twelve Years Later! Woo-hoo!**

**Disclaimer: I only own people that weren't in the original series…See? Short and Sweet. Just like me. Haha. I'm very hyper right now, and I have no idea why.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

_"Max, shut up please." Fang said. "I'll be excited for our children no matter how it ends. But this time is different."_

_ "You're right." Max agreed. Fang thanked God that she was on the same page as him. "Because this time I'll end it myself. I'm going to get an abortion."_

Okay, so we are not on the same page, Fang thought. "Max, no, you can't do that."

"It's my body Fang; I can do what I want to it." She said confidently. Fang realized she probably had thought through this conversation before he had come in. She probably had every come-back in the book up her sleeve.

Fang didn't know why he was still fighting her on it but he tried. "Max it's my kid!"

"It's mine too! Besides, I'm the one that has to carry it and sacrifice my life for nine months for it!" she yelled.

"We're not having this discussion now." Fang said as he stood up and practically ran out of the room.

* * *

After the initial shock of Max's decision died down, Gazzy volunteered to take Angel, Sam, and Nudge home for the night, but since it was after curfew Nudge had to be the one to drive them home. Dr. M, Ella, Iggy, Jeb, and Fang decided to meet with Dr. Snyder. The six of them sat in her large office for a while going over every statistic, outcome and option. It was around two in the morning and they were still there. Jeb had all of Max's and Fang's health files spread out on Dr. Snyder's desk along with the files on both of their mothers.

"This doesn't make sense." Jeb said, sounding like he was finally giving up. "Both Fang's mom and Valencia had very easy pregnancies. There was one little complication during the delivery of Fang though."

"Would that be affecting Max?" Iggy asked.

Jeb shook his head. "Max has had excellent health over the past 26 years. Though we are missing ten years of documentation for Fang, nothing could just come up that we wouldn't notice. You all are 99% immune to all viruses."

"What about that one percent?" Iggy asked.

"You can still get colds and the stomach virus, but even that is unlikely."

"Let's just get back to the matter at hand." Ella commanded.

Dr. Snyder turned to Fang, who was sitting so still and silently he was struggling to remain visible. "We should be asking you about what you want and think is best. You have a 25% chance of this working Fang. A 25% chance of you actually having this baby in the end."

Fang sighed and unleashed all of his inner turmoil. "She knew for two weeks that she was pregnant. She probably knew that she wanted an abortion for one week. She told me that she didn't tell me because she didn't want me to get excited for no reason. But Max really didn't tell me because she didn't want to be stopped.

"Max was planning to tell me the whole story after the surgery. She knew that the worst case scenario would be that we wouldn't sleep together for what – one night? Then I'd just crawl back to her." Fang paused. "God I'm a terrible husband." He said, burying his face in his hands.

"Of course not Fang! We all know that Max can be as stubborn as a bull at times." Ella said.

"Exactly, and that's why I'm going to let her get the abortion."

"Okay no you're a terrible husband." Dr. Martinez said. "Fang, this baby is as much yours as it is Max's. This is the one time in marriage where the husband is allowed to be selfish. I know you want this baby and Max does too. She's just scared of the unknown; it's her nature. With all that she's been through, she is scared of what's going to happen. But she also loves you and knows everything will okay as long as you're around. Max wants something that belongs to her and can not get taken away."

"And I feel the same." Fang nodded.

"Then why are you letting her do it?"

Fang stood in a frustrated manor. "Because I'm scared too! I'm scared that if she has another miscarriage I won't be as lucky and she'll die." Fang took a deep breath. "But having our own baby would be…I don't know."

"There aren't words for it Fang." Ella said as she squeezed his hand.

"We'll pay very close attention the matter. Max will come in once a week for the next six and a half months. I'll issue it as a high – risk pregnancy." Dr. Snyder spoke confidently. "We won't risk Max or your child, Fang."

"The it's decided. The hospital has a policy that prevents her from scheduling any future surgeries that don't pertain to the reason she is here. So the second you get her comfortable at home, you must talk to her. Disconnect all of the phones and the internet if you have to. Just don't let her plan anything." Jeb ordered.

"What are you, my father – in – law?" Fang asked sarcastically.

They all laughed. Fang nodded as he hugged Ella and Dr. M before taking off to go home for a few hours of sleep. But Fang knew he wouldn't sleep a wink from his excitement.

**Okay, so that's the prologue. There will be two more and then the real story will start. Alright, so let me know what you think. Next prologue will be pretty exciting.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	2. The Other Prologue

**my day so far: woke up, finished summer reading :), got distracted from cleaning my room by doing my pre-school closet organization time, fell off of my sister's desk chair while organizing my closet (ouch), unwrapped a hanger to get stuff out of my dresser, wrestled with a begrudging drawer, danced around my room singing to the Wicked Soundtrack, and then I counted how many hangers I could fit on one hand (42, btw). So yeah…and it's not even four o'clock yet. Not much else to say. I actually copied that from my Facebook status just so I wouldn't need to type it all again. **

**Haha. Enjoy The Other Prologue! **

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

The day Max was going to be coming home Fang ran around his apartment unplugging the computer, frying the ends of the phone cables (after he disconnected them), hiding both of their cell phones behind a bookshelf in the hallway, and then he hid his laptop under the mattress in the guest bedroom. But when he got to the hospital he was in for a surprise. Max was walking carefully, not quite stable yet on her newly healed ankle and Ella was beside her, holding a suitcase.

"Hey girls, what's up?" Fang asked casually. (AN: OC? Idk, don't mind me. I'm just a really really hyper author.) Max shrugged and got in the backseat of the car, buckled herself in and sat there pouting with her arms crossed over her chest like a kid about to go to the dentist. Fang closed the door for her. He took a couple steps away so that if she decided to open the door to try to kill him she wouldn't be able to.

"What's up with her?" Fang clarified.

"She's just mad at you. Mad at all of us actually. I think she senses a strong mutiny coming. Did you cut off all contact from the apartment?" Ella asked urgently.

"Yep. I even hid my cell phone, along with hers. Oh and the landlines are going to need to be replaced." He added. "I'm going to need to hide your cell phone too."

She shook her head. "I can't. Iggy is home with Effie alone for the next two days and he'll need to reach me at least ten different times I bet. But don't worry; I'll always have it on me." Ella reassured him. "So do you know how you'll convince her to keep the baby yet?"

"No…not yet. I'll probably pull out the selfish card first though." He admitted. "I do have an ace up my sleeve though."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Her being Miss – Save – The – World and if someone found out she got an abortion her reputation would be ruined."

Ella thought for a minute. "It could work."

Fang heard the window being rolled down behind him and turned to look at Max. "I'd like to get home if you two are done your little powwow." She said. Ella and Fang looked at each other quickly before getting in the car.

While driving to the apartment and riding in the elevator to their floor there was tension similar to the tension everyone has when they know that Gazzy hasn't farted for a while and could at any moment.

Fang unlocked the front door and looked at Max. They both stared at the other in the eye with Ella standing awkwardly behind them. Then they broke; Max sprinting inside with Fang chasing after her. When she got to the phone she picked up, dialed the hospital's number and put the phone to her ear. Fang panicked as he watched her do it, wondering if he had missed that phone. But no, Max soon slammed it down and crossed her arms.

She stared at him with venom in her eyes. "Let me guess, you disconnected anything that could contact the hospital." She said. Fang didn't dare to answer. Ella avoided them and went straight to the guest room. Max wasn't done though. "Well that's just great!"

"I can't let you do this Max." Fang finally said very tentatively.

"Why not?" Max yelled. "Fang, it's my life! I can do whatever I want! You're not my mother!"

Fang got pissed too. "Well I'm your husband! You chose to marry me! And when I vowed to take care of you through everything, I meant it! But I swear to God that if you get an abortion I will pack up everything and be gone as soon as you get home." He threatened.

"Good, maybe that would be best." She shot at him.

The words stung, but Fang wasn't swayed. "Whatever happened to the indestructible Maximum Ride? Where is she now? Because I don't think you're her! If you were you wouldn't be giving in so easily. You would stick this out no matter what!"

"Yeah, well, the indestructible Maximum Ride doesn't exist anymore! Not since you left anyway." She said as she started to walk towards the master bedroom.

"Max have you forgotten about the fact that you won't be able to fly the same after it?" Fang asked. She stopped in her tracks. Slowly turning, Max looked him in the eye with an expression that told him that he had finally struck a chord somewhere.

Ella stepped out of the guest room holding Fang's laptop. "Um, Fang, why was this hidden under the mattress?" she asked.

Max scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I can not believe you." She whispered before slamming the door shut behind her.

* * *

The next morning I woke up and – surprise – had to throw up. I sprinted into the bathroom and collapsed by the toilet before violently heaving into the toilet. It only took about two seconds for Fang to run in and hold my hair.

"So I reconnected the internet and picked up new phones. Do you want me to call the hospital still?" he asked.

I nodded before coughing and then heaving some more.

"Is that all?" he asked.

I shook my head and tried to speak but ended up throwing up more. Finally I just barely got the words out. "You…vasec…tomy." I gasped.

I could just picture Fang's expression in my head, he was probably speechless. But no. "If that's what you want."

The heaving was finally over, so I laid my head down against the cool tile floor. He stroked my hair as I shook my hair and tears leaked out of my eyes.

"You don't want me to get a vasectomy? You want to have a baby some other time?" he asked. He knew he had won, he just wanted to hear me say it.

I cried harder. "I want to have this baby." I sobbed. Fang picked me up and cradled me against his chest, rocking me gently back and forth. Ella stood in the doorway leaning against the door jam.

Fang looked up at her. "Call Dr. Snyder. Tell her we'll be in later today." He told her. Then he shushed Max and whispered, "I love you, oh sweet child of mine."

**Yeah, I know Fang was OC at the end, but oh well. I think it's cute. Love it? Hate it? Well, I'll only know if you review!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	3. The Last Prologue

**This is the last prologue! Enjoy! Next will actually be Chapter 1!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

**Oh, and I definitely need to do a disclaimer on this one. I don't own anything from TFW. You'll understand why I said that if you keep reading.**

_Seven Months Later_

"I'm gonna barf." I whispered to Fang, wiping my sweaty hands on Fang's black sweater as he wiped his own sweaty hands on his black jeans.

"You'll be fine." He whispered back. "You always are."

"I'm gonna die." I moaned.

"You can't die." He said, a hint of a smile in his voice. "You're the indestructible Max."

"I've never faced anything this hard before." Yes, I sounded like a pathetic weenie. I prefer to think of it as showing my softer side.

"Max?" My mom stood at the door, smiling at me. She was all dressed up and looked fabulous, despite the tired look in her eyes from staying by my side for the last ten hours. I was lucky I grew up to kind of look like her. I guess it was just hindered by my refusal to girlify myself. I looked down at my hospital gown, now soaked with sweat. Mom had thoughtfully supplied Fang with some towels to wipe my forehead with. In this state I felt – I don't know, vulnerable? Like I couldn't mover, couldn't fight.

Well we all have issues.

Dr. Snyder came in, pulling on a clean pair of rubber gloves. "Well Max…Fang…you two ready?"

I rolled my eyes and drew in a quick breath. I looked at Fang and saw all of the love in the world pouring out of his eyes.

She bit her lip. "Do you two want a couple seconds?" she asked.

We both nodded. She went outside, dragging Mom with her. As soon as they were outside I shook my head. "I can't do this." I whimpered.

Fang sat down on the edge of the bed, draping his arm around my shoulders. "I know you can do this."

"Fang, you don't understand. This is worse than getting every single rib broken and then getting kicked in the broken ribs and–"

Fang cut me off by pecking me quickly on the lips. "Max, you fought me tooth and nail on this from the very beginning. But we didn't go through all of those mornings crouched by the toilet, the midnight craving runs, and once – a – week check – ups to simply be wimpy now. Be the Max that I married. Be the Max that I left. Be the Max that I fell in love with." He said.

"I didn't ask you to preach to me." I mumbled as Dr. Snyder came back in with Mom, Ella, and three other doctors.

"Let's do this." I said.

* * *

It was finally over. The doctor immediately cleaned the baby, wrapped him in a blanket, and put him in my open arms. He was a perfect fit.

Fang wiped sweat off of my forehead with his sleeve. "You did it." He said.

"No. _We_ did it." I corrected. I shifted the baby in my arms uncomfortable. Fang took him from. I was so sore; the sudden emptiness in me was overwhelming.

"So what are you naming him?" Dr. Snyder asked.

"Umm…" I couldn't remember which name we'd decided on.

"Caleb Michael Ride." Fang filled in.

I sighed. "Yeah, what he said." I whispered, closing my eyes. Dr. Snyder laughed and took Caleb from Fang. As she walked out with him, Mom leaned down to give me a hug.

"Aww Max!" she squealed. "You must be tired. Get some sleep." She said kissing my sweaty cheek before getting up to leave. Fang followed suit after her but I grabbed his hand.

"Stay with me." I pleaded. He laughed and squeezed in on the bed, sitting next to me. "I love you so much." I whispered.

"I love you too." He whispered back.

"Thank you." I told him. "If it weren't for you, I would've taken any chance of us not having children from us."

Fang squeezed my shoulder and started to rub the top of my arm. I knew he was smiling. I was too.

**So that's the last prologue. Review please!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	4. Chapter 1

**It is now officially the book! Woot woot! This is two years after The Last Prologue. **

**~Crusher~**

The alarm clock went off loudly. I groaned and felt around on the bedside table until I found my Mickey Mouse clock then I started searching for the Snooze button. But it went off before I could find it.

Somebody shook my shoulder. "C'mon Max. You need to take care of Caleb today, remember?" Fang asked.

I groaned again. "What ever happened to good morning?"

My eyes weren't open but I knew Fang was smiling. "There's breakfast on the table." He said as I heard him stand up and walk out of our bedroom. I sighed and tumbled out of bed. I did my morning routine and got dressed in sweat pants and a t – shirt.

I walked down the hallway and into Caleb's room. I opened his blinds and went to wake him up, but since this is me we're talking about I tripped and landed on the floor with a loud thud. From where I was on the floor I saw Caleb bolt upright, completely alert. His big brown eyes focused on where I was lying on the floor. "Mommy?" he asked. "You on da floor."

I smiled at him and picked him up out of his bed, placing him on my hip. Over the past two years he had turned out to look like Fang more than me, compared to how much he did look like me when he was born.

Oh yeah, I need to tell you guys about what happened over those two short years. Well, I got a new job as a nurse in the ER. Don't ask me why, I just started to have the need to help people again. It had been ten years after all. Fang was promoted to manager at the music store but he dropped that job and decided to also work at the hospital and he was in charge of the ER ward. We both brought home some healthy pay checks, but we were barely getting by.

Mom always told us that if we needed it, she still had loads of money from her time with CSM, but Fang always told her that we'd be okay. The first time he did this I really flipped at him, no, not the bird, but the reaction.

"You need to go to the bathroom buddy?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said, shifting in my arms so that he could get down. I went to follow him but he turned around and gave me the stop-right-there look that I was sure Fang had gotten from me numerous times. "I'm big boy Mommy. I do it myself."

"Okay." I said laughing. I sat down with my back against the wall and thought about the past two years. So much had changed. Fang and I were still happily in love and still, uh, touchy-touchy if you know what I mean. We had even just started to talk about having a second baby around, but we both agreed to wait until we were on more solid ground financially.

Caleb was the perfect son in our eyes. There was one little problem, he didn't have wings. We found out literally five minutes after he was born. We were a little disappointed, okay, a lot disappointed, but we realized that it was stupid that we were disappointed over the fact that our son didn't turn out perfectly. There were things that I worried about because of it though. First of all, he wouldn't be able to escape easily if he ever needed to. We would never be able to teach him how to fly, and Fang was openly disappointed about that. Maybe because he never got to teach the flock; it was always my job. And lastly, Fang and I had talked about what would happen if any of our children did have wings and how that would effect Caleb and his attitude to his sibling.

This didn't mean that he didn't inherit some traits from us though. There was the fact that he was a very light sleeper, which Fang and I did not appreciate much when he was a toddler, but he was extremely alert when he woke which was definitely a good thing due to his lack of evasive techniques. Instead of super-fast flying though, he could run super fast, and I mean so fast that he practically disappeared. He had acute senses and was also pretty strong. He was able to lift a twenty pound bag of potatoes over his head at the age of one if that gives you any idea of how strong.

The door opened and Caleb came out. He looked at me with wide eyes as I picked him up and carried him to the kitchen where Fang was pouring milk into Caleb's cereal bowl. He ate out of a regular size bowl because he too had a large appetite. Fang sat down with a plate of eggs and a bagel as I scooped some out of the pan for myself. I put Caleb in his high chair and put his bowl of cereal in front of him.

I sat down in my own seat and swooped close to Fang to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "When will you be home tonight?" I asked him.

"It depends hon. I mean, today is a rainy day and it's supposed to get worse tonight so we might get a lot of last-minute patients. But I'll try to get before eleven." He added, taking my hand from across the table.

I smiled and unfolded the newspaper in front of me. "Um, Fang?"

"Yeah?"

"You do realize what today is, right?" I asked him.

Fang swallowed his eggs and glanced up at me. "April eleventh." He told me, shrugging. "Oh God. Babe, I'm sorry I forgot. I promise, I'll pick you up something nice and shiny on the way home tonight."

I shook my head. "Fang, what are you talking about? I do not need anything else that is nice and shiny." I said, reflexively fingering my locket that he'd given me for my 'birthday.'

"You mean today isn't our anniversary?" he asked, his eyes growing to be about twice their size.

"No, our anniversary is in August Fang." I told him. "Our taxes are due next week." I said.

Fang sat back. "Crap, and we haven't done them yet."

"Nope." I said. "I'll do them today."

"You suck at math."

I smiled at him. "Gee, thanks for the encouragement oh husband of mine."

We started to laugh and for a moment I just wished that everything could stay like that, but of course it's me so that would not happen.


	5. Chapter 2

**Wow it has been a while. So just a quick overview on character ages:**

**Max, Iggy, Fang, Dylan, and Sam: 27 years old**

**Nudge and Ella: 24 years old**

**Gazzy: 21 years old**

**Angel: 19 years old**

**Effie: 3 years old**

**Caleb: 2 years old**

**Oh, and I have bad news. My sister (PennStateGRL4eva) has decided that if she doesn't get over twenty reviews soon she will delete the story. I agree, I mean, nine reviews is pretty pitiful. Anyway, she also wanted to remind you guys that she has a poll on her profile about Max and Fang's kids. So please vote and review! **

**LionetteGRL=eternity**

When Fang got home that night around nine he found me sitting at the kitchen table leaning over a pile of bills and looking like a slob in sweat pants, one of his hoodies and my hair pulled back in a messy ponytail.

"Hey." He said, leaning over my shoulder to peck me on the cheek. "Caleb's in bed?"

I nodded and buried my face in my hands. Fang was going to flip when we got to the crux of the conversation we were about to have and I was not looking forward to it.

"What is all of this?" he asked me quietly.

I held up the sheet of paper that I'd been staring at, waiting for his reaction.

"Max," he began, "Please tell me that all of those zeroes cancel out. Or that you won the lottery and this is the money you won."

"I wish I could." I told him, uncovering my face and looking into his beautiful, dark eyes.

Fang pulled a chair up next to me and slowly sat down. "Shit." He whispered, dropping his head in his hand while dragging his other hand through his hand. It was a nervous habit that he'd developed during the first six months that I was pregnant with Caleb. "So what are we gonna do?" he asked in an extremely calm tone. Another habit that he'd developed when I was pregnant with Caleb; it came about when I was in the moodiest stage.

"Well, Iggy said a loan from the back would just put us even more in debt, if that's at all possible. I mean, it might be time to give in to Mom and her checks." I said sadly.

"Wow. How'd those words taste coming out of your mouth?" Fang asked, obviously trying to lighten my mood.

"Like garlic. But even if Mom helps we won't have enough to get back on our feet. I tried calling the CSM but what is left of our money is saved for Angel's tuition."

"So where are we going to get the extra money that we need?"

"There is another option." I reminded him.

Fang immediately interpreted my words. "No. Iggy has that job."

"Fang, with Ella being eight months pregnant Iggy needs to be home with her. Surely you know how it feels to be at work and constantly worry over your heavily pregnant wife."

"Ella can stay here and we'll take care of her." Fang said.

"Fang, honey? You might not be understanding the gravity or severity of our situation. We are in some serious debt. We can't provide for another person." I told him.

"Max, I'll do anything. I'll cut my diet in half, just please…I don't want to start those damn missions again." He growled.

I sighed. "You do know that with the amount of money we owe the government has the power to take Caleb away from us? And who knows where they'll send him. Especially if he mentions anything about the wings. They'll probably try to send him to a mental hospital. Or worse."

"You do have a point." He said, giving up. "I'll do it for Caleb. For all of us."

"Nothing will tear us apart." I assured him.

"Nothing is able to." Fang said, picking up my hand and kissing the back of it. "You know, we haven't made love in a while."

I smirked, standing up and walking toward the bedroom. "You coming or not?" I asked him.

He ran toward me and picked me up bridal style to throw me on the bed. He quickly loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt before jumping on the bed next to me. I took the hair tie out of my hair and slipped off the hoodie as Fang slowly kissed his way up my neck. I unbuckled his belt and slid it off as he started to work my pants down my legs. I had just gotten to Fang's zipper when there was a loud crash that sounded like glass breaking.

Fang and I practically flew down the hallway to the front room where Caleb was sleeping. I wrapped a robe that I'd grabbed around myself tightly as I checked Caleb's room for any sign of disturbance. Caleb was sitting up in his bed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Mommy?" he asked.

"You're okay honey." I reassured him, rubbing his back as Fang checked the other front room where his office was.

Fang called me so I whispered to Caleb to go sleep in our bed. Caleb gathered his blankie in his arms and walked down the hallway to our room. I walked across the hallway to the office and saw shards of glass covering Fang's desk.

"There's a note." He whispered, pointing to a piece of paper lying in the midst of the glass. "Do you want to read it or should I?"

"You can." I told him, but he was already moving toward the letter.

"Dear Maximum Ride," he began out loud.

_ I am writing you this letter to inform you that I know about you're current predicament. You seem to be having trouble caring for your son and I just wanted to tell you that I would gladly accept the responsibility of taking care of him until you have everything sorted. I'm sure you are probably wondering what I want with you. Well, first off I would love the chance to study your son. He seems like a promising subject. I will not tell you the rest in this letter, but if you would like to know I will meet you in the nearby skate park at two o'clock in the morning tomorrow. _

_ Sincerely,_

_ De Ja-vu _

_P.S. I suggest that if you and your husband have sex any time you soon you are careful, because a pregnancy would be terribly inconvenient for all of you._

Fang's voice cracked as he finished reading the letter. "So do we go or not?"

"We go. Caleb is going to stay at Ella and Iggy's for the night. The rest of the flock is coming with us." I said.

"Max, this guy wants a war from the sound of it." Fang warned.

"Well then he's going to get one. No one is going to get away with threatening Maximum Ride or anyone she cares about. No one. If he wants a fight than he will get one and he will lose." I said, venom dripping from my voice.

**That's it for now. Extra thanks to my sister for typing that for me. An extra reminder about that twenty reviews thing, because I think all of you will agree that this would be a crappy place to stop a story. And don't forget to vote on my poll.**

**FYI, there was a lot of foreshadowing in this chapter. See if you can pick it out.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	6. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I've been trying to update ASAP but I've been super busy. This week was homecoming week – therefore, spirit week – and since I'm on the dance team for my school all of my time has been spent in a really hot and stuffy auditorium practicing for our performance in the pep rally. Wow that was a long sentence. But the football game was fun (WE WON!) because I hung out with all of my besties and my boyfriend the whole time. Anyway, I'm starting to babble so…yeah…**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

"Okay," I said, addressing the flock, "this is how this will work." We were all packed into Fang's Mustang like sardines as he drove recklessly fast down the road. I turned to look at Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge. They had all reported directly to my apartment nearly five minutes after I sent out the Flock 911 message. Iggy, of course, was at home with Ella watching Caleb for me and I was perfectly okay with that knowing that he was protected.

"We don't have much time." Fang grumbled to me. "So don't make up a super complex plan like you have a habit of doing."

I rolled my eyes but otherwise ignored the jab. "There is a patch of woods near the meeting place, you will all wait in the shadows and when, or if, I give you the signal you will all jump out and have my back."

"Um…quick comment." Fang said, cutting me off. "Am I included in that 'you all?'" he asked.

"Why yes you are, do you have a problem with that?" I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Uh, yeah. I'd feel better about this if I were next to you."

"I don't need your protection. Besides, judging by the last line in the letter I don't think this guy is a Fax fan."

"I can be invisible." He retorted.

"Yeah, well, you're a little out of practice at it, especially since you haven't been on any missions for two years." I shot back at him as he fell silent. "So does everyone know what's going on?"

The three youngest flock members nodded, but Fang wasn't finished. "I don't like this plan, but I'll go along with it, just because you are still the leader. You may not need my protection but you need some sort of protection." He said. "Open the glove department for me."

I did what he said and saw what he wanted me to have. "Um, Fang, I don't know how to shoot a gun."

"All you need to know is that the trigger is what dislodges the bullets, okay?"

"Yeah, I know that but I don't know how to aim! Besides, it won't do much good if we're close to each other, would it?" I asked him.

"Of course, it would just kill him faster." Angel said.

I sighed. "Let's get this straight; we are not killing him before we question him, okay? I need to know what he wants before I kill him."

"What if it's a her?" Nudge randomly asked.

I looked over at Fang, expecting him to be smirking and looking at me with an amused tone but he had his jaw clenched and he was gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were turning white. "What is your problem?"

"What is my problem? My problem is that this has been the best flipping day of my life!" Fang suddenly exclaimed, shocking the three bird-kids in the backseat because they'd never heard him raise his voice like that.

I rolled my eyes. "You are being pretty darn melodramatic, you know that right?"

"Well I'm sorry not all of us can be so cool and placid like you when their only son is threatened!"

"Fang we're going to solve this."

"We better, because if we don't we are moving to Peru and changing our names. My name will be Christopher, Caleb will be Micah, and you will be Hannah."

"Where the hell did those names come from?" I asked him.

"I just used the first names that came to mind, okay?"

I rolled my eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time that night and tucked the gun in the back of my jeans. Fang parked the car in a secluded piece of the woods and turned the engine off. I slowly climbed out of my seat and let the flock out as Fang did the same. The Gasman, Angel and Nudge flew up into the trees as Fang and I stood looking at each other over the roof of the car.

"We shouldn't be fighting." He said. "It's probably what he wants. He probably wants to instigate a split between us."

"Well then it's working." I said coldly, walking away only to be shocked by him appearing right in front of me, quite literally out of nowhere. Capturing my face in his hands in one fluid movement, he kissed me. And it wasn't just a casual kiss, this was fireworks and star collisions.

"He is not going to break us. We've never been broken permanently before, we never will be." He whispered to me.

I sighed, knowing that he was right. "I love you." I whispered.

"Love you too." He answered. He stroked my hand before giving it a squeeze and following the flock up into the trees.

I walked through the woods, the moonlight providing me with all of the light I needed. It was somewhat cold outside for a January night in Arizona and I found myself actually pulling my coat tight around me, drawing up the memory of the sensation of Fang's arms around me at night to keep me warm.

Stepping out into the open I saw the skate park with all of the lights shut off and the ramps casting harsh shadows across the concrete. The gate creaked as I pushed it open, sending chills down my spine. I stopped walking behind the high wall of a half-pipe, trying to pick up the location of this De Ja-Vu person.

There was a scraping sound behind me and I spun around, only to see a short person in a cloak. Now, I may be five-seven, but this person couldn't be anymore than 5 feet tall.

"Maximum Ride." The person said in a heavily accented voice. "So we meet at last." He said in a satisfied tone.

"You are De Ja-vu?" I asked, not at all impressed by anything about him.

"Why yes I am. Let's just get down to business. You have something that I want."

I laughed, even though the very idea of handing Caleb over to this man made me feel like a cold hand had grabbed my heart and squeezed it hard. "Forget it, I am never going to hand my son over to you." I spat the last word.

"You may not have a choice. I hear you and your husband have hit a rough patch. You will surely need to cut down on some things, maybe even give them up. Your son might need to be one of them." De Ja-Vu said coolly.

"Well you have no reason to be interested in Caleb because he doesn't even have any qualities of an avian-human hybrid, so there you go." I lied.

"Do you think you can talk your way out of this Max?"

"Talk more or less." I said, quickly withdrawing the gun from my belt and pointing at what I thought would be his chest.

He laughed. "Well Max, I am impressed. I thought your secret weapon would be the flock."

"I didn't come alone, if that is what you are implying."

"Well I did come alone." De Ja-Vu said. "My soldiers are elsewhere, attending to some of my business for me." He began to walk away. "By the way Max, I suggest you do not underestimate me. I can be very persuasive sometimes." He called over his shoulder before disappearing into the shadows, leaving me panicked and cold, knowing that this was just the beginning of De Ja-Vu's terror in my heart.

**Please don't forget to vote on my poll and review the story! No time to talk, got to go to bed! Nightey-night!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	7. Chapter 4

When Fang and I got home early that morning from picking Caleb up, we put him to bed and sat in our bed talking. "I never thought this would be so hard." Fang whispered.

"You never thought what would be so hard?" I asked.

"Just…parenthood. There isn't just some handbook you get when you find out you're going to be a parent. And we had it easy, Caleb's been amazing these past two years." He admitted.

"Yeah, he's a good kid." I said, smiling to myself. I was laying with my back to Fang and he was facing me on his side stroking my hip. He started to kiss my neck and immediately my pulse sped up. He rolled so that he was on top of me, supporting himself so that he wasn't really on top of me. "Fang?"

"Yeah?" he breathed into my neck.

"Despite this whole De Ja-Vu thing, I do want another kid." I told him.

"I'm working on it in case you haven't noticed." He said in a rare Fang-is-being-perverted moment.

I laughed and kissed him back, only to be interrupted by the phone. "Leave it." Fang mumbled against my lips.

"It could be important. Especially at this hour in the morning." Then a thought dawned on me. "Ella could be in labor!" I suddenly exclaimed, bolting away from Fang and going to answer the phone. It was indeed Iggy.

"Hello?" I said into the phone.

"Max, thank God. We were just attacked!"

* * *

Fang pulled up in front of Iggy and Ella's house. There were police cars and an ambulance there already. The police tried to stop us from entering their perimeter but when Ella saw me she told the officer we were okay to get through. I ran toward her and hugged her tightly. "Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, just shaken up. Iggy basically threw me and Effie into the closet when we were attacked." She said in a shaky voice.

"Is Effie okay?"

"Yeah, she's sleeping in the ambulance right now." Ella paused. "Max, I know you're going to ask, but I don't know who it was that attacked us. They had hoods on and it was dark and I couldn't see-"

"Sh, it's okay Ella. Fang is probably grilling Iggy. Did he fight them off by himself?"

"Yeah, but he's fine. He's stayed in surprisingly good shape over the years." Ella said, giving me a weak smile. "Max, you're quiet. What do you know?"

"I know what I need to do." I said before jumping in the car and driving off to the skate park.

* * *

Upon my arrival, it was only four in the morning. I would have to make it quick. I only waited for De Ja-Vu for five minutes.

"You truly are incorruptible aren't you?" he asked me.

"I like to think so. Name your price. I'll give you anything, just not Caleb." I told him.

"Okay. I'll gladly take you."

"Too bad whoever you are working for already has my files. And my husband's and family's. Name something else."

"How about…" he paused, an evil smile growing, "one night?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, but I already knew.

"You heard me Max, have sex with me and I'll leave you alone."


	8. Chapter 5

**Okay, I'm back. So I'm just going to be totally honest in that my life is like, insanely crazy right now so do not expect regular updates. I'm doing the best I can. In fact, I really only have enough time at this moment to type this sentence and then I am out the door and onto my life outside of Maximum Ride. Ha-ha.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

The next night I went back to the skate park, and now there was a car there in addition to mine. My stomach fluttered as I clutched the steering wheel of my car tightly in my hands. "I'm so sorry Fang. This is for Caleb. I love you so much Fang." I whispered as I slid my wedding and engagement ring off of my left hand and put them in one of the cup holders. I wiped my eyes quickly to erase the pooling tears, got out of the car and walked across the parking lot toward the large black van.

* * *

Two days later when I was at work Fang pulled me aside. It is rare that both of us work a full day together because of Caleb but today was one of those special days where all of the doctors had to deal with the two of us. Because, you know, we are just such a terrible duo to work with.

Anyway, I was arranging some files on a cart when Fang walked by, looking incredibly and – dare I say – inhumanly handsome in dress pants, shirt, tie and medical coat ensemble. When he was dressed in his hospital garb he kind of reminded me of Patrick Dempsey from Grey's Anatomy, even though that show had stopped making new episodes by the time I was eighteen.

I pretended to be busy with organizing the files as Fang stood next to me, so close to me that I could feel his breath on my neck. "So?" I asked him.

"I just want to say I'm sorry and I love you." He said, only he said it rushed and it took me a couple seconds to comprehend what he had said exactly.

"Check-plus on the I love you and a question mark on the I'm sorry." I told him.

"Well, you've been avoiding me for the past two days, and I thought I did something wrong the made you mad at me." He confessed.

I shook my head. "I'm just stressed. I mean, I feel like I'm fourteen again. I'm worrying about all of the same things; if we'll be able to eat, money, our impending doom, keeping my family safe except this time the family thing is so much more important and I'm just so…overwhelmed."

By the time I was finished Fang had pulled me into his arms. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

"Of what part?" I whispered into his shoulder.

"Déjà Vu."

"How?"

"I'm gonna kill him. He will pay." He whispered with venom dripping in his voice like a snake exposing his fangs. **(AN: ha-ha, get it?) **

I pulled away and looked him in the eye. "No." I said in my strong leader voice that I usually reserved for Caleb. Or Fang whenever he went digging through my underwear drawer for money. "Look, I'll take care of it."

Fang looked over my shoulder at an approaching doctor with a confused expression. "We'll talk later. Aren't you supposed to be going home soon?" he asked over his shoulder as he walked away.

I looked over at the clock and indeed, my hours were over. I quickly went to the locker room, changed out of my scrubs, signed out and drove to Ella's to pick up Caleb. She was sitting on the couch flipping through a magazine when I walked through the door. "Hey." I said casually before nearly bumping into a very exhausted and aggravated Iggy. "Hey." I repeated.

"Do you mind watching Ella? She's been begging me to get her some cookie dough ice cream but with watching Caleb and Effie…" Iggy rambled.

"It's okay Igs. I got it. I need to catch up with her anyway."

"There's not much to catch up on. She's barely moved from the couch in the past thirty-six hours." He grumbled.

"I can hear you Iggy." Ella yelled from the other room. "And it's your fault."

"It was your choice." He whispered so that only I could hear him. Giving me a squeeze on the shoulder he grabbed the car keys and walked out the door. Taking it as my cue and went into the living room and sat down on the recliner across from Ella.

"Okay, what did you do?" Ella asked staring me down hard enough that I was uncomfortable.

I quickly looked away and focused on the picture that Ella had sitting on the end table of her and Iggy from her senior prom. "What are you talking about?"

"Max, you are wound tighter than a slinky. Something is bothering you, and it isn't just your soap opera of a life." She observed.

"How do you know?" I snapped.

"And you're defensive. You must have done something really bad." She whispered.

I was quiet. How could I tell her what I did? She would tell Iggy and Iggy would tell Fang and Fang would kill me. Then he would bring me back to life to kill me again and repeat the process numerous times until he was finally ready to just keep me alive.

"Oh God, you're quiet. I'm scared to know what you did now." Ella said.

"I wasn't wearing my wedding ring, or engagement ring…" I began.

"Oh God." Ella whispered, rubbing her forehead in a stressed manor.

"Just let me finish Ella." I took a deep breath and continued. "Déjà vu told me that if I had sex with him he would leave Caleb alone."

"And you did it. Like, _did it _did it."

"Yeah, Ella, I know." I snipped.

Ella took a deep breath, obviously thinking about what to say. "Was it…you know…protected?" she asked quietly.

"I'm on the pill Ella." I reminded her.

"But did he use a condom?"

I shrugged. "He may not even be human."

"Max, what if you're pregnant?" she whispered.

"I just told you that I am on the pill. Fang and I have had sex plenty of times while I'm on the pill. It was just the one time that it didn't work." I told her.

It was quiet except for Caleb and Effie playing together in the other room. "You need to tell Fang." She whispered.

I shook my head. "No. He can never know. He's worried about enough as it is."

There was an awkward silence. Ella reached for another magazine. "I think you know where I stand Max." she said, giving me a stern look. "But because you are my sister I will not tell Iggy."

"You can tell Iggy. I don't want to come between you and your husband."

"But I don't want to either." Ella whined. "What did was wrong, and not telling Fang will just make it worse."

"Yeah, I know. Two wrongs don't make a right." I said, cutting her off.

"Exactly, and—"

"Momma!" Caleb called from the doorway, running toward me and throwing himself in my lap. I hugged him tightly to my chest.

"Caleb needs his father." I mouthed to Ella. She nodded and patted the spot next to her for Effie to sit with her.

"You're right." She surrendered. "But it's still wrong."

**So that's it for this chapter. Big surprises are lurking around the corner, in the closet, and under your bed…duh duh duh! Review please.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	9. Chapter 6

**I told you that you can count on some irregular updates, so here you go…you get one! Woo-hoo. Anyway, I think I know now how this story is going to totally pan out and now I have really good incentive to keep writing, which is good news to you guys I guess.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

**P.S. I need more votes on the poll. If I don't get anymore I may not be able to finish this book! Come on guys! Please vote and review!**

Fang was in the bathroom brushing his teeth when I got home from Ella's later that night. Before going to talk to Fang I decided to stop in and say goodnight to Caleb while he was still awake. I sat on the edge of his bed and brushed his blonde hair out of his eyes.

"Hey buddy." I whispered. His eyes flicked open and his hand grabbed my arm in a death grip. "Woah, cool it Kool-Aid." I told him, using his favorite nickname; just don't ask how he got it. "It's just me, I won't hurt you. I'm simply saying goodnight."

"Love you Mama." He whispered before closing his eyes and yawning.

I smiled and patted his hand that was now resting on my arm before placing it by his side. I had my hand on his light switch when he said, "Mama, do you and Daddy love each other?"

"Of course Caleb. That's why we got married."

"Oh." He mumbled. "Then why did I have a dream about you guys not being married anymore?"

"It was only a dream honey. Dreams aren't real; you have nothing to worry about." I reassured him while pasting a fake smile on my face. Flicking the lights off on my way out, I closed Caleb's door and walked down the hallway to the master bedroom. Fang was in the bathroom using his mouth wash when I entered and went to my side of the counter.

We were quiet for a while and eventually he spoke. "So, about Déjà vu." He prompted.

"Yeah, I've decided."

"And?" he asked.

"We're not going to kill him."

Fang stood so still that he started to disappear around the edges as he watched me wash my face. I shoved his shoulder so that he would move but after catching his balance he stood still again. I sighed and washed the soap off of my face.

"Fang, I don't want to kill him."

"We are still talking about the person that threatened our son, right?"

"Yeah. We are." I said, opening my mouth to continue but being cut off by Fang's cell phone. He walked out to the bedroom and picked it up off of the dresser and looked at the Caller ID.

"It's Jeb." He said, gritting his teeth. "You told him that we needed money didn't you?" he accused.

"Fang, what else was I going to do? We do need money!" I exclaimed.

"I'm the husband which means I take care of the finances!"

I huffed. "Well look who is being sexist now! Where did you hear that from, Iggy? Cody? I told you those guys you used to work for are bad influences!"

"Right, and because you are right about everything you feel the need to control my life!"

"Since when did I ever control your life Fang?" I asked, dying to know what his answer would be, but because this is Fang he didn't answer me.

"I've had it! I'm not going on this mission, I'm going to be controlling money from now on, I'm going to kill Déjà vu and I'm not going to do a damn thing you tell me to!" Fang yelled.

"Mommy?" I heard Caleb whisper and looked to see him standing in the door.

"Well, in that case, there is the door." I said pointing. "Don't let it hit you on the way out."

"I am not going to leave Caleb. Or you. Not now anyway."

I sighed. "Than I will." I declared, grabbing my purse from the kitchen table as I stormed out of the apartment. Slamming the door behind me I stood in front of the elevator, looking at me reflection in the steel doors. My face was tear-streaked, my hair limp from working a twelve hour day. I looked out over the bay that you could see from the balcony of our apartment building. Clouds were moving in from the West, and I knew I couldn't go anywhere if there was a storm coming, so I just collapsed against the door to our storage closet which was right next to our front door, listening to my pounding heart, the tinkling of raindrops on the metal railings and Caleb's crying.

I watched the lightning strikes and the rain pour down with my knees pulled up to my chest and my chin resting on my knees. Caleb's crying eventually stopped and I listened to Fang tuck him in.

"Why are you and Mama fighting Daddy?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"We're just worried about some stuff. But don't worry about it buddy, we'll get through this." Fang answered in what I hoped was a truthful answer.

"How long will Mama be gone?"

"She isn't going anywhere Ace." Fang always called Caleb Ace because Caleb always won whenever he asked for something Fang wouldn't give him.

"But she left." Caleb pressed.

"She's coming back." Fang said. I heard him pad out of Caleb's room and shut the door. He continued to the kitchen and I listened to him open and close the cabinets and freezer. Three minutes later the front door opened and Fang sat down with his back up against it, holding a bowl of ice cream out to me.

"Eat it, please, because if you don't I'll just feel like a dick for failing to bribe my wife." Fang pleaded.

"You know Caleb probably heard that." I told him but I took the ice cream anyway. "You shouldn't have lied to him."

"I didn't lie to him." Fang said.

"But—" I began but he silenced me by pressing a finger to my lips.

"I didn't lie to him. You are not leaving."

"Why not?"

"Because that is what Déjà vu wants. He wants us to separate so we are weak. We can not let him win that way."

"I know." I sighed past a mouthful of ice cream. "I'm just being horny."

"I noticed." Fang chuckled. His smile vanished as he looked me in the eye and whispered "I love you" with as much conviction as he had on our wedding day.

"I love you too." He took my hand and laced his fingers in mine. He looked down at our hands and his eyes flashed back up.

"Where is your wedding ring?" he asked.

"What?" I asked him, looking down at my left hand where yes indeed, my ring finger was bare. Crap, I thought. "Oh, um…right. I had to take it off earlier today when I had to assist with a surgery, and I just never put it on. But it's in my purse." I reassured him.

Fang sighed. "Don't scare me like that again. I thought you'd had sex with someone else for a second."

I laughed nervously. "I would never do that. You should know that."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed, standing up and picking up my purse for me, slinging it over his shoulder.

This sent me into a fit of real laughter. "Nice look." I said in between chuckles.

He ignored the jab and held out his hand to me. I put my spoon into the bowl and gripped his hand, allowing him to pull me up. He surprised me by pulling me close to him, so close that you wouldn't be able to place a piece of paper between us.

Fang swooped in to kiss me, and soon we were pretty much making out in front of our front door but then the elevator dinged and we broke apart. My neighbors stepped out of the elevator and said quick goodnights to us. We laughed and went inside, our arms wrapped protectively around each other's waists.

** So that's it for now. Just one more reminder to review and vote on the poll on my profile, please.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	10. Chapter 7

**Nothing much to say….other than, yeah, I'm still mad at the tall guy I told you guys about…did I tell you guys about him? I can't remember. Anyway, yeah…um…awkward. Uh…**

**Review and vote, I guess. – Scratches head – No, I'm not scratching my head because I have dandruff. Gross.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

**WARNING: I guess you have probably figured out by now that I am really out of it so this chapter might make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Just a little head's up. So here it goes…**

I'm sure you are all guessing that this chapter starts with something along the lines of: One month later, yada-yada-yada, blah blah blah. Well, I'm just going to tell you guys that you were ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! Now you are scratching your chin thinking, _Has Max officially lost her mind?_ Now you are all wrong. I'm still perfectly sane, I'm just pregnant with what might possibly be a bastard child.

So I missed my period and all of that good stuff so I decided to make a trip over to Ella's house, only to find that she had just gone into labor upon my arrival and she practically sprinted out of the house with Iggy and Effie, yelling at me to lock up when I left. Naturally I followed them to the hospital, figuring I could get a pregnancy test there. And if you are thinking that I was not panicking by then, you are wrong again. I was just about to lose my mind…again.

I called the apartment and got no answer, so I figured Fang was in the shower and just getting a late start to the day. I would soon find out that I was terribly wrong. I snuck into one of the utility closets and stole a urine pregnancy test and just about sprinted to the bathroom. I endured the longest three minutes of my life, not because I did not know I was pregnant (I was 99.99% sure) but because I had no idea what to tell Fang. I had planned on talking to Ella about it but she was in labor and that is not exactly the best time to have a conversation if you know what I'm saying.

So when the little pink plus sign appeared on the test, I slid down the tile wall and curled into a ball and sobbed into my hands. I hadn't felt this sort of pain since Fang had left for that decade. It wasn't because he had left, he hadn't, but it was because I knew he would. He would never forgive me, our family would be separated forever, I'd have to take care of a child I didn't love, and I would never see my true other half again.

"Shit." I moaned. But an idea popped into my head so fast it was like lightning. I knew what I had to do. So I stood up, threw out the test, went to the lobby and gathered my things. I kissed Ella and Iggy goodbye and walked out into the parking lot, where it was just starting to rain.

On the way to the skate park I was going over ways to go about this. I was half-tempted to pull out my laptop and look at some Fang's oldest blog posts, knowing that one of them was '101 Ways to Kill Dylan' but in this case it would be Déjà vu.

It all seemed so simple. I pulled the gun out of the glove department, waited behind a large half-pipe and when I heard footsteps I spun around the corner and pulled the trigger. After that it was all done. I shot the security cameras, stole them and drove to a stream where I threw them in the water and watched them float away. I was sure Déjà vu's minions would pick him up at sometime.

I sat in the car for a while, thinking about what I had just done. Eventually I picked up my phone and called the number I never thought I would be calling.

Someone answered after just two rings. "Hello?"

"Dylan?" I asked. "It's Max."

I could practically see hear Dylan's smile in his voice. "Max. I haven't heard from you for a while."

"I know. Listen Dylan, I really need to talk to someone right now. Do you think we could meet up for coffee?"

"Sure. I'll see you in five minutes."

"Okay." The line disconnected and that five minute drive was a lot less tense than the one to the skate park and stream.

Dylan was already waiting for me at one of the tables and waved me over when I saw him. He stood up and kissed me on the cheek in that way that old friends do as he pulled a chair out for me. "I ordered you a mocha, I hope you don't mind." He said, sipping at his coffee.

"Actually, I'm not drinking coffee right now." I said, tracing circles on the table with my index finger.

Dylan practically spit out his coffee. "Excuse me? Please tell me that you are about to explain."

"I did something really stupid." I admitted.

"You had sex with Déjà vu to get him to stop going after your son. Oh, and now you're pregnant with what you think is his kid and you just killed him." I gawked and he chuckled. "I can see things, remember?"

I nodded. "So I guess I don't need to explain as much as I thought I did."

"Nope. I guess not." He said sadly. "Why did you do it?" he asked suddenly.

"Why did I do what?"

"Have sex with him? Why didn't you just let Fang kill him right off the bat?"

I bowed my head. "I don't know. I guess I just acted on impulse. I mean, come one, you know I'm not a killer. Otherwise you'd be dead by now.

He looked like he was about to say something smart but he closed his mouth and shrugged. "Touché." He paused. "So what are you going to do about Fang?"

I shook my head. "I guess that's why I'm here."

"Why are you here?" he asked. "It's not that I am not enjoying this scintillating conversation, especially since you practically admitted that you wanted to kill me a few years back, but why aren't you talking to your mom, or Ella or Nudge or Iggy? Or anyone in the flock? What about Maggie, your old friend from the zoo?"

"Maggie and I sort of broke up shortly after Caleb was born when she found out that I had sex with her boyfriend. And Ella just went into labor and that is not a good time to talk to someone about this. Especially since I'm friends with the doctors taking care of her. And I learned to keep the flock out of my family life long ago." I explained.

Dylan shrugged again. "I'm sure Fang is going to forgive you. I mean, he forgave for having sex with three different guys. And that was before you two were married."

"Exactly. Fang and I are already in a rough patch with money problems and just no communication. What if this sends him over the edge and out of the family?"

"There's only one way to find out." Dylan told me.

"I know." I whispered. "But I don't know that it isn't Fang's baby."

"Well, when was the last time that you and Fang had sex?" Dylan asked.

"Two months ago…maybe three. There is still a chance that it's his."

Dylan smiled. "So take a test. No big deal."

"You don't understand. Fang works at the hospital. He knows everything that happens, and there would be no way that the nurses would keep it from him. The straight out of medical school nurses have had their eyes on him."

"Then I'm sorry, but you're stuck."

I nodded. As if on cue, my phone rang. I looked at the Caller ID and saw that it was Mom. "Sorry, I have to take this."

Dylan swatted his hand. "Mom, what's wrong? How's Ella?"

"How's Ella? I don't know. I'm too damn busy taking care of your husband."

"What happened?" I answered in a serious tone, making Dylan's eyes flash in an alert manner.

"He was stabbed this afternoon. Caleb was asleep when it happened and woke up two hours later. Fang's going to die." She said.

"Oh my God." I whispered, my phone slipping out of my sweaty hand and the room starting to spin. Then I was on the floor, the cool tile somehow making my face feel warmer. I saw Dylan's aqua eyes staring at me in horror before everything disappeared completely.

**And you thought Max was in a deep enough hole already. I bet you didn't see that one coming! Vote and review, please and thank you.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	11. Chapter 8

**Okay, so just one quick thing. Well, not really quick, but I'll try to make it quick. It just depends on how fast you read.**

**So I'm just saying that you should not expect updates on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, and/or Thursday because I have dance class on those days. And I'm not going to get all complicated and such with time zones. I live in Pennsylvania; there you go, figure it out from there. I'm really sucky at math so it probably wouldn't be right anyway. If I do get the chance to write on any of the above days I usually write for my novel. **

**So that's it. Review and vote please!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

"Ungh." I moaned as I slowly pulled my eyelids back. My head was pounding and the light hurt my eyes. The ceiling above me was white, but not the hospital white I was expecting; the ceiling in my bedroom kind of white. I looked around and sure enough I was lying in my bed.

Then out of nowhere Fang came in my room carrying a glass of water. "Oh thank you God." He breathed as he basically sprinted to me.

I was so confused. How did I get here? "Dylan!" Fang called. Dylan was there? Why was he there? Why was Fang there? Didn't Fang get stabbed? "Max, its okay honey. I'm here."

"Huh?" I asked as he smoothed hair away from my face. Then I remembered. I remembered everything. The pregnancy test, killing Déjà vu, talking to Dylan, getting the call from Mom about Fang…

"Don't you remember what happened?" Fang asked as Dylan walked in the room with a stiff jaw, teeth gritted. I wondered if it had been that way the whole time I was unconscious.

"In full Technicolor glory." I growled as I pulled myself up into a sitting position.

"Wait, how many fingers am I holding up?" Dylan asked, stepping closer.

"Four. That is not including your thumb." I told him, letting attitude show.

Dylan shrugged. "She's fine."

Fang gave him a look. "No, there's one question about me that only she would know. Max, true or false: we made love to each other while eating Nutella." Dylan slapped himself in the face.

"True. I'm not stupid Fang." I told him. "And I would suspect it would be true even if I had some weird case of amnesia."

"Like I said," Dylan began, "she's fine. Now I'm leaving. I have a family too." Dylan grabbed a tan leather jacket off of the end of the bed. "See you around Max."

"Yeah." I whispered, knowing why he was leaving early. After hearing the front door close, I cast a sideways glance at Fang. "So…"

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Fang's face lit up in a breathtaking smile. "We're gonna have another baby." He whispered.

"Yeah, we…" I paused, unsure about the 'we' part.

"Max, honey, what is it?" he asked, sitting on the bed next to me.

"Oh, nothing, just didn't feel good for a second." At least part of it was true. "Are you okay Fang?"

"Yeah, I've been better but you are my only concern. Especially after I found out you were pregnant." He said.

I loved the man so damn much and it seemed like he was being so sweet just because God wanted me to feel extra bad. "Fang…" I whispered, not looking at him.

"Max, tell me what's wrong." He demanded, genuinely concerned.

Then I started to cry. Like, legit crying, as in sobs, runny nose, wailing, the whole nine yards. Fang pulled me into his arms and I sobbed into his shoulder, wiping my eyes on his black t-shirt. "Fang…I'm…so sorry." I sobbed.

He held me at arms length and looked at me intently, trying to interpret my thoughts in the annoying way of his. "You…are sorry for what exactly?" he asked tentatively.

"I took my wedding ring off for it and everything, but since I did it everything has been so a huge mess." I hedged.

"What exactly did you do Max?" Fang asked, sounding extremely scared of what the answer would be.

"I had sex with Déjà vu to stop him from threatening Caleb and now I think I'm pregnant with his child!" I yelled out in a rush.

**Oh shoot! What is Fang going to do? Well if you review and vote maybe you'll find out!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	12. Chapter 9

**Oh no, oh man. There is a tie on my poll for how many kids Fang and Max should have. Notice that I included Fang. Just a little FYI. Anyway, if you haven't voted yet…you should because than my feelings will be hurt. Okay, I lied, but I'll be extremely frustrated and I'll just kill all of their kids, and then Fang and Max. Mwahaha!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

I bit my lip, waiting for Fang's reaction. I wasn't even sure if he heard me clearly. His answer proved that I was right. "Huh?" he said, eyes wide, eyebrows raised and his mouth hanging open. "I don't think I heard you clearly."

"I know you heard me Fang. I'm not going to say it again." I mumbled, looking away from his beautiful face.

"You…Déjà vu…Caleb…sex…his…" Fang stuttered.

"Are you angry?" I asked before cursing myself for asking such a stupid question.

"What kind of question is that?" he suddenly yelled. "Of course I'm mad! I'm pissed!" I cringed.

"Are you mad at me?" I asked.

"Just give me a second, it's still building." He said in an extremely calm tone. The room was quiet as I silently thanked God for the fact that Caleb was staying with Mom that night. The apartment was the kind of quiet that you get right before a tornado comes through, destroying everything. Which is probably the equivalent of what Fang was about to do.

"What the Hell Max?" he exploded. "We agreed that you were going to kill him! But no, you're Maximum Ride! You don't kill people, it's so evil! No, instead you try to compromise by HAVING SEX WITH THEM!" he screamed in my face.

"Fang I did kill him!" I told him.

Fang disregarded my comment. He huffed and ran toward the closet and pulled out his emergency backpack. He packed some of the food that he had stashed in his underwear drawer and crossed the room in three steps. When he had his hand on the door to the balcony I called him back. "It could still be yours." I pleaded.

"I'm not going to live with that insecurity though. You having sex with Dylan was the last straw. I can't keep giving second chances. Tell Caleb that I'm sorry and I love him." He said before opening the door and slamming it shut.

I turned my face so that I didn't see him leap from the railing, extending his sixteen foot, solid black wings. I wouldn't be able to bear that kind of pain.

* * *

Fang flew hard and fast in case Max tried to follow him. He didn't look back at the apartment, he couldn't. He kept telling himself to not be such a wuss with this, he had after all, left Max before when she was pregnant. But that was much different. That was for the beginning of the marriage.

This was for the end of the marriage.

**Really short, I know. Vote and review please!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	13. Chapter 10

**Okay, so I'm going to admit right up front that I got the inspiration for this chapter from Nicholas Sparks's book, At First Sight. I fell in love with True Believer and then read the sequel in like, two days. So now I am in the mood to write.**

**Disclaimer: Nicholas Sparks owns the storyline in At First Sight, not me.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

I collapsed on the bed, curled up in a ball, and cried. I couldn't say that I was surprised that he left, I had expected that. But I didn't expect what the next couple of weeks would bring. I was surprised to hear that Fang was living with Gazzy and Nudge, especially since I didn't even know that Gazzy and Nudge were living together.

Two weeks after Fang's departure though, I got a phone call. And after that things went downhill. I didn't answer the phone, even though it was Iggy. He left a message saying that Ella was going to the hospital because she was in labor and he just wanted me to meet him there. But I couldn't go; seeing the happiness of a husband and wife overseeing their newborn baby would just remind me that those days would probably be over for me.

However, I wasn't expecting a phone call seven hours later from Mom that I needed to get to the hospital right away, that something had happened and she wanted me to be there with her. As her daughter I knew it was my responsibility to go be with her, so I sighed and grabbed the car keys.

Upon arriving at the hospital I was met by a nurse from the maternity ward that I had seen but had never really met. "Dr. Ride, please come with me." She led me to a scanning room that the hospital used for ultrasounds. "I am Dr. Sterling, and it has come to my attention that you want to have a DNA test performed on your child."

I sighed. Ella spilled the beans to Mom and Iggy, that was great. "Well, uh, okay." I said.

"Just lie down and I'll give you some medicine to knock you out. I'll have the results later today."

* * *

Fang was in his office when Dr. Sterling entered. "Dr. Ride, your presence has been requested down in the maternity ward."

"What is going on?" he asked, not looking up from his computer.

"I have some results from a DNA test for your child."

"My child?" he asked in a hard tone.

"Caleb's younger sibling. The baby that Max is pregnant with is yours." She whispered.

Fang jumped out of his chair and bolted down the hallway to the west wing of the hospital. He had heard that Ella had gone into labor earlier so he didn't even need to doubt where Max would be. Pushing through the doors he found the flock sitting in a room with no patients in it. Iggy was not there, neither was Dr. Martinez and Max.

Gazzy, Nudge, Angel, Jeb, Sam and Dylan were all sitting in various places. Jeb saw Fang but immediately looked away. He noticed the tears in all of the girls' eyes and also in Gazzy's and was overcome by a feeling of dread. His stomach sank and his heart grew colder than it had been since he left Max. "What happened?" he asked.

Someone cleared their throat from behind him in the door. Fang spun around and saw Max leaning against the door frame with Dr. Martinez behind her, arms around Max's waist to help support her.

Dr. Martinez had puffy, red eyes and spoke in a ragged tone. "The amniotic fluid reached her heart." She announced before breaking down in hysterics. Jeb crossed the room to collect Valencia in her arms. She left Max and let Jeb lead her down the hallway.

This left Fang and Max facing each other, both avoiding the other's eyes. "Max, I'm so sorry."

"Me too." She whispered. Fang didn't know what he was really sorry for, but he had to say and her saying it eased some of his pain. He stepped forward and took her into his arms, stroking and kissing her hair. "She's gone Fang." She whispered.

"I know." He said, tears stinging his eyes, officially at a loss of words. "What do you need me to do?" he asked her.

"Just hold me and never let go." She pleaded. "And move back to the apartment. And take care of Caleb. And Iggy and Mom and Effie."

"I will." He promised. "I'll never leave you again."

"You said that last time. And the time before that and the time before that." She protested.

"Well I really mean it this time. And I know I said that too last time and the time before that and the time before that." He told her.

She pressed into him more and Fang thought that she just needed more comfort but then realized that she was probably still tired from the testing. "You should sit down." He told her as he moved to a chair and cradled her. He didn't notice anyone else in the room with them but he did notice when Iggy entered. He walked like a zombie to an empty chair and collapsed into it.

Max noticed too and moved over to him. She put a hand on his shoulder and when he didn't shake it off she bent over to give him a hug. That is when Fang realized just how breakable Iggy was. He accepted Max's hug without protest and gave sobbed into her shoulder, just like how she had done to Fang.

**So that's it for now. It might be a while until I update again so I didn't end with anything too cliffy. I just realized though that I totally forgot about Caleb while writing this chapter. Oops.**

**Review and vote please. I seriously can not go on if I don't get more votes. The results are just too close.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	14. Chapter 11

**Okay, not much to say. Read, review and vote please!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

The three weeks following Ella's death seemed to pass by in a blur. Mom was staying with Iggy and making sure he and little baby Aaron were okay. **(AN: sorry, forgot to say that Iggy and Ella had a boy named Aaron.) **Fang went to work everyday except for Sundays, which was the way it was before the whole Déjà vu mess. He saved Sundays for spending time with Caleb and me, much to my complaint about him needing the money that he would earn in those extra hours, but after a few months of it I realized that I would not win.

We all tried to get back to our normal routines after Ella's funeral. Gazzy and Angel went back to school, Nudge was back to finding a job, Fang was working six days a week, I was working three days a week due to my pregnancy. Speaking of, Fang and I quickly fell into step with our old routine of morning sickness, mood swings, cramps, and cravings. And no, Fang did not experience any of the above himself; he was merely a victim of me experiencing all of them.

The hormones certainly didn't help the grief I felt for my lost sister. There would be times when I woke up in the middle of the night and sobbed into Fang's shoulder while he either continued to sleep, pretended to sleep, or comfort me. As time went on though, I got angrier about Ella's death and Fang went back to his habits that he had formed when I was pregnant with Caleb. We both felt so much more connected after what we had been through, and even if he was on the verge of falling asleep he would come home from work each night and rub my feet, shoulders, and back.

Since I discovered that I was pregnant when I was so far along I was shocked to find a bump so soon. Fang reassured me in that I did not look pregnant or fat and that he wouldn't have noticed if I did not point it out. I was pretty sure that I seemed larger than last time though. I was worried that maybe because I hadn't been the most careful person in those three months of not knowing I was pregnant that baby's health was at risk.

Three weeks and two days after Ella passed away I expressed my concern to Fang. I was sitting on the sofa with four pillows propped up behind my back to add comfort, flipping through a magazine while Caleb was napping when Fang came home. He dropped his keys off on the table by our front door and sat on the coffee table in front of me, grinning like a mad-man.

"Okay, you are not one for smiling so I'm a little concerned." I told him.

His smile only got bigger. "Caleb is asleep, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well he won't be after I tell you that I got a raise at work." I squealed and jumped at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him passionately on the mouth. Fang tried to deepen the kiss but I quickly pulled away. "What?" he asked.

"I don't think we should be doing this." I whispered.

"Are you worried about having a miscarriage?" he asked, his tone instantly more serious and much darker than it was, contrasting sharply with how he was just moments before.

"Well, yes and no. I'm also worried because I feel like I'm bigger than last time and I know that I missed some prenatal care and now I think the baby may not be healthy." I confessed.

"Max, don't kill me or anything, and remember that I have never once called you fat," he prefaced, "but maybe you're just, you know, not as thin to begin with as you were last time."

"Fang Nicholas Ride, I am extremely insulted." I said sarcastically.

"You're not mad at me for saying that?" he asked, slightly confused.

I shook my head and laughed. "I know that I didn't lose all of the weight that I gained when I was pregnant last time, so no I'm not mad."

"Phew." He said, dramatically dragging a hand across his forehead. "But why didn't you tell me before?"

"I don't know. I guess I was just waiting to see if it would get better."

"Have you been in any pain?" he asked.

"No more than usual."

Fang sighed. "Well you have a doctor's appointment in two days. Can you hold out on dying that long?"

I laughed. "It'll be a struggle, but I think I can do it."

Fang placed his hand on my stomach. "You know how this happens right?" he asked.

"Yep." I said, already knowing where he was going.

"Do you think maybe we can, you know, do that?" he asked me with pleading eyes.

"I don't know. Caleb's—"

"Asleep." Fang reminded me.

I sighed and surrendered myself to him.

* * *

Ultrasound appointments were no big deal this second time around, but when the doctor had to excuse herself to get the head honcho, I couldn't help but clam up and avoid Fang's gaze.

He squeezed my hand tightly. "I'm sure everything is okay." He whispered to me, kissing me on the cheek.

"And if it isn't?" I asked him, keeping up my role as a negative nancy.

Fang didn't get a chance to answer for the two doctors had entered. Now the head doctor was looking at the pictures of the baby and whispered to the doctor as he pointed at something that would be on the left side of my stomach.

"What's wrong?" I demanded making Fang cover his face with his hands.

"Max, honey—" he began.

"Do you know what's wrong? Is the baby dying?" I asked him frantically.

The doctor behind me chuckled.

"What?" I exclaimed. "Could somebody please fill me in?" I pleaded, mostly to Fang.

"Well Mrs. Ride, you have some good news." The head doctor, who's nametag said Dr. Urban, informed me. "The good news is that you are perfectly healthy."

"And the baby?"

"The baby is healthy too. Both of them."

**Review and vote please!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	15. Chapter 12

**Again not much to say. Review and yes, you still do need to vote. So if you are reading this and you have not voted yet, GO VOTE! Or voted again, that's cool too.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

_"The baby is healthy too. Both of them."_

"Whaaaaaat?" I asked, saying exactly what Fang probably wanted to shout.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ride, you are going to have twins."

The room got a little spinny for a second as Fang dropped his head onto my hand that he was holding. I smoothed his hair as I looked at the doctor. "Are we on camera right now or something? This is not a really funny joke." I told him.

"It is not a joke. I don't joke about stuff like this." He said.

Fang was still frozen and he started to fade around the edges. Normally when that happens I kick him but I just let him since he was probably being invisible on purpose. The doctor gaped but I smirked. "Yeah, he does that sometimes." I informed the doctor. "It is really bad when he does it in his sleep. That's just scary."

"Does it have something to do with the whole…bird thing?" he asked.

"Yep, each of us has our own little power."

The doctor cleared his throat and redeemed some dignity. "Well, if you both could join me in my office, I would like to see _both _of you." He said pointedly to Fang, who must have snapped his head up because when he appeared he was looking at the doctor with wide eyes.

The doctors left to go and attend to business as I hopped off the table. Fang undid the back of the hospital gown I was wearing and spun me around suddenly. "You do realized that there is no way we can afford three kids, right?"

I shrugged and pulled my shirt on. "Just do me a favor and act like an adult." I snapped.

"Where did that come from?"

"You sure as hell no where that came from! Sitting there, disappearing like a child and leaving me to deal with this!" I whispered urgently, noticing the open door to the hallway. "That seems to be the theme of this pregnancy Fang."

"It isn't, I swear." He promised in a low tone.

"Then prove it or get out."

* * *

When Fang walked into our bedroom later that night he found me sitting on the bed with my feet propped up and a laptop sitting on my lap. "Did you know that most parents of twins don't have any other children?"

Fang shrugged as he dried his hair and pulled his pajama pants on. "No, I didn't."

"Did you also know that most parents of twins don't have any other children because it is extremely uncommon to get pregnant with twins the second time?" I asked without taking my eyes off of the computer screen.

"I did know that actually." He said, climbing into bed next to me.

It was quiet as he grabbed the remote and turned on a Suns game, and suddenly the king-size bed felt a lot bigger than it really was. I turned off my laptop and closed it, setting it on the night-stand before folding my hands in my lap and addressing Fang. "So, uh…sorry about what I said earlier about you leaving me."

Fang shrugged and grunted, obviously feigning disinterest.

"It's just that, I know I've been all hormonal lately and I know that it isn't any excuse, and I really should not say things like that to you when you provide for me so much. I guess I really just want to trust you more."

"You never had a problem trusting me before." He mumbled.

"I know. I guess things change though. Maybe it is us not constantly being in danger or not being able to trust anyone but ourselves."

"I don't know how to respond to that Max." Fang said.

I frowned. "I figured. Fang?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Do you think we can handle three kids? I mean, I know we hadn't talked about how many children we wanted, and this was a surprised, but…" I left the sentence to dangle.

"But the real question is whether you think we can handle three kids." He told me, looking me in the eye. "I just need you to know that no matter what, I'll be here for you. I love you. That's why we got married, why we have Caleb, and now it's why we have the twins." He said.

I held his hand and snuggled closer to him as he pulled me onto his lap and let me fall asleep that way.

**I know it's short. Review and vote please. This will be your last chance to vote. I am taking the poll down tomorrow so however it turns out is how it turns out. Remember it is what all of you decided.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	16. Chapter 13

**I know it's been a while, but I'm here now and that's all that matters! Sike, there's a whole lot more that matters like global warming, Obama's stupid health care plan, terrorists…sike again! Really hyper. This chapter is gonna be interesting.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

As the months passed, Fang and I worked harder than we had ever worked to get the extra money we needed and also get things around the apartment ready for the twins. There were a lot of nights where we would lay in bed and hold each other, whispering about things that had happened years ago. We spent a long time talking about Dylan and how lucky he was to have found a wife that wasn't a hybrid or anything. Than we laughed at how stupid we were back then but soon stopped when Fang pointed at that Caleb would be that way in twelve years.

Things were not so enjoyable though. I won't bore with the details of Fang and I fighting due to my hormones, but we got into some good fights that resulted in a night on the couch for Fang. But as we reminisced about the past, I could not help but think about how surreal my life had gotten. I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop, for someone to jump out and yell "Sike! We're just playing! Your life sucks!" and take away everything. One night I expressed my worry to Fang and he just held me tightly and reassured me that everything was and always would be fine.

But not everything was fine. My sister had died, leaving my brother-in-law in a deep depression that none of us seemed to be able to shake. He had sold his house and moved in with Mom while Nudge and Gazzy visited him frequently.

And then the time came for the twins to come. We were a little more organized leaving for the hospital, even with Caleb. The first time I packed my bag as Fang ran around the house gathering things we'd need, but when I noticed he wasn't there anymore I found him rearranging all of the furniture in his office. This time he only had to take a freakin' forty-five minute shower!

Anyway, the hours passed and then it was time for the twins to be delivered. But then the doctors spoke the words that you never want to hear when you are about to give birth to your children: "There has been a complication."

Fang was ushered out of the room to change into scrubs, leaving me alone with doctors that were ordering things that didn't make sense in my head past the pain. Then they unhooked me from the monitors but kept my IV drip in and wheeled me out of the room. Fang was waiting out in the hallway dressed in blue scrubs with a calm expression on his face. Too calm; he knew what was wrong and had no intention of telling me. Those stupid doctors think they know everything.

* * *

Fang gripped Max's hand as the doctors moved her into the OR, preparing to perform an emergency C-Section. Somewhere in that time frame Max realized what was happening and looked up at Fang with horrified eyes. She had probably found out what was wrong.

One of the babies tried to leave the womb at the same time as the other, getting both of them stuck. One was squished to the point where the brain stopped responding and it could not breathe. Fang knew that it would be a funny story to tell in ten years about how they got in a fist fight on the way out but not so much if one of them died.

Mostly to make himself feel better, Fang held Max's hand tightly in both of his as the doctors removed the babies from Max's stomach. At first everything seemed okay, but then everything turned to slow motion, yet it seemed to be moving too fast at the same time. The doctors took out the first baby, the healthy one, and cleaned it as the other team of doctors took out the second child. They started to walk over to the cleaning area as another doctor went up to Fang and clapped a hand on his shoulder, saying, "It's a girl." As Fang's heart swelled with joy, he realized that he was only talking about one baby. He saw the doctor cleaning the second baby look up in horror and Fang knew what had happened immediately.

"Oh my God." He whispered, collapsing his face into his hands, which were still holding Max's hand. She had come around by then and she was looking at Fang the same way she had on the way into the OR. Then she started to cry.

Fang looked over at the cleaning area, past the still baby to the one that was being wrapped in a pink blanket and thought that he was going to pass out.

Their perfect little girl, lying beside their unmoving son, had black wings.

**I'm not sure if I made that ending clear, but basically it was a boy and girl set of twins and one died. The one that lived though had wings. Reviews would be greatly appreciated! (Even if you hate me right now.)**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	17. Chapter 14

**I really am in a kind of slump right now so I have no idea as to how this chapter will turn out.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

Fang sat by Max's side and filled out the paperwork as much as he could without Max helping him. As Max slept in her hospital room Fang walked to his office and sat in there for a while, staring at the picture that was taken of Max, Fang and Caleb on Caleb's first Halloween, trying not to cry. Even though it was a cliché, Max decided to dress Caleb up as a pumpkin. Fang kept thinking back to when he was watching Max pick out the costume when the two of them were shopping – Dr. Martinez was watching Caleb – and she said that if they ever had a girl they would dress her up as a ghost and not a princess because no daughter of theirs would ever be a princess; they simply would not let her.

Even though he missed all of the time that Max was in labor, Iggy eventually came, finding Fang in his office close to tears. He clamped a hand down on Fang's shoulder and stood by his side as Fang told him what had happened. After that Iggy went to go see Max, leaving Fang feeling like a dirt-bag because his problem was not nearly as big as Iggy's. Fang had only lost a child when Iggy lost his only light in the world. Literally, Ella had died her hair blonde so that Iggy could see her better.

Finally, Fang stood up and went back to Max's hospital room. The doctors told him that she could stay there as long as they needed but he knew she wouldn't want to be there any longer than she needed to be there. He sat in the hard plastic chair next to her bed with his hands clasped tightly in his lap, occasionally running a hand through his hair as he waited for Max to wake up. Caleb had been with Dr. Martinez when she heard the news about the deceased twin.

With Max still asleep, Fang's little girl still did not have a name. As Max's eyelids flickered open, Fang suppressed the urge to gasp. The pain in her eyes was so real, so magnified her eyes were like brown abysses, just sucking you in and pulling you under so you can not breathe. Fang wondered if his were the same. But then again, Max was probably blaming herself for their son dying.

"Max, honey." Fang whispered, holding her hand tightly in his, trying to rub the back of her hand but was unsuccessful due to the IV hooked into it.

"Oh, Fang." She sighed, tears welling in her sad eyes.

"Our daughter needs a name." he said, trying to sound sympathetic.

Max swallowed. "Alex. I was going to name our other son Alex." She said before tears cascaded down her cheeks. Fang stood up and sat next to her on the bed, holding her tightly and rocking her slowly back and forth, rubbing circles in between her wings in the way she liked best. She sobbed into his shoulder for a long time, nearly a half hour before gulping and whispering. "Meredith. Meredith Ella Ride."

"If that is what you want." As soon as he said it Fang knew that was the wrong answer. He cringed, waiting for the new wave of tears to arrive.

"I want a son." She whispered hoarsely.

"I know. But we have Caleb."

She nodded and hiccupped as she wiped her eyes.

"And Max, there is something you should know about Meredith."

"What?" she asked, starting to tremble.

"She has wings."

Max froze as her breath caught in her throat. "Meredith has…wings?" she repeated as if she thought that Fang would lie to her about something as important as their child having wings.

"Yes, she does and they are so beautiful. They are like yours, but like mine too. The are white on the tops with brown speckles in them but they fade to black along the bottoms." Fang described quickly.

"Your daughter has wings." She said like she was seeing what it felt like to say it. But Fang caught her mistake.

"_Our_ daughter has wings." He corrected.

"Yeah, right." She said. But Fang knew she was a thousand miles away in her mind and knew that it was the right thing to do to leave her alone and just let her think.

"Are you hungry?"

Max shook her head. "No, just tired and sore."

"Well, I need something to eat." As if on cue, his stomach growled. He stood up to go get something from the vending machine down the hall but turned at the door. "We have a daughter and she has wings. Remember that." He said. He didn't know why he said it but something was telling him that he needed to remind her of that.

Fang was punching the code for a bag of chips when Caleb ran up and hugged his leg tightly. "Daddy!" he yelled, making Fang's heart swell with joy. "Where's Mommy?" he said, bouncing from one foot to another.

"She's sleeping. Sh." Fang said, crouching down to be on the same height as Caleb.

"Daddy, I'm hungry!" Caleb complained.

"Okay buddy." Fang reached for the bag of chips that had fallen out of the machine and handed them to his son who smiled eagerly. Just then Nudge and Gazzy ran around the corner and stopped when they saw that Caleb was with Fang. "You lost him?"

"He's a fast little son of a—" Gazzy began.

"How's Max?" Nudge said, cutting Gazzy off.

Fang deliberated for a second. "I don't think she is quite ready for visitors yet Nudge." He said.

"But we're her family!"

"I know, but she's…not taking this too well, to say the least."

Nudge put a hand over her mouth as Gazzy said, "And you?" Fang and Gazzy had a strange understanding for the male position in a relationship compared the Fang and Iggy or Gazzy and Iggy because Fang and Gazzy were both with girls that had wings and could also kill them with their bare hands.

"I need to be there for my wife. That is my job right now." Fang answered.

"But you also need to be there for your children. Have you even held your daughter yet?" Nudge asked.

"That doesn't matter. I've been busy doing other things."

"Other things like sulking in your office like a loser that does not know how to be with is wife whom he takes for granted?" Iggy asked, suddenly emerging from the other hallway.

"How can you say that? My son just died Iggy!" Fang exclaimed.

"And you're lucky that Max didn't!" Iggy yelled back, louder, making a group of nurses walking by stop and stare.

"I can't deal with this right now." Fang said quietly to Iggy, glancing pointedly down to Caleb.

Iggy smirked but did not reply. He walked away, leaving Fang fuming.

Fang bent down to pick Caleb up and handed him over to Nudge. "Can you watch him? I need to talk to someone."

Nudge nodded and walked hand-in-hand with Gazzy to the waiting room. Fang slowly walked to Dr. Snyder's office, finding it vacant and collapsing in one of her cushy chairs. Her heels clicked on the floor as she entered. "Fang!" she squeaked. "Wow, I was not expecting to see you here."

Fang was slouched in her chair with is arms crossed, fixating on a snow globe on her desk with a picture of her and a man in it. "Who is this man in the picture?" Fang asked.

She smiled and hung up her white coat on a hook before taking her seat behind the desk. "That was my fiancé." She said, looking at Fang with sad eyes. "He was amazing."

"What happened?" Fang asked, hoping that she would say what she hoped she was about to.

"He died." She whispered, twisting the diamond ring on her left hand absentmindedly. "We got engaged right out of high school. We went to the same college and everything. But we got in an accident on the way home for Christmas break. We hit a patch of black ice and he swerved into a tree. If he did not swerve, I found out later, my side would have been the one impacted. He swerved so that he would be the one to collide with the tree."

"I'm sorry." Fang whispered, looking at the floor.

"I am too. I was okay, but he wasn't. I got him out of the car and had no idea what to do from there. I thought he was going to live and at that moment I knew that I never wanted to feel so helpless again. That's why I became a doctor. I started out like you, in the ER, but eventually I decided to save lives in the OR."

Fang was quiet. "Have you ever blamed yourself for his death?"

"No. I know that there was nothing I could have done at the time but when I get a patient that needs a life-saving surgery I think of that night so I am reminded of what it feels like for his loved ones in the waiting room waiting to hear if he will be okay." Dr. Snyder paused. "You can't blame yourself for your son's death Fang." He looked up; he was not aware that she knew. "News travels fast here, remember?"

Fang nodded. "But what if Max goes into a depression and she…" he broke off, unable to finish.

"There will be nothing you can do. You know that Max will be Max and she will pull through if she wants to and really sets her heart to it, but you have to prepare yourself for her becoming just another statistic in suicide cases."

Fang stood up abruptly and coughed quietly. "Thank you doctor." He said before exiting the office, Dr. Snyder's words echoing in his mind. Actually, it was just one word. _You have to prepare yourself for her becoming just another statistic in suicide cases. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide._

**Oh no. Review please.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	18. Chapter 15

**Wow, it has definitely been way too long. Wow. That is really all I can say. I really have no idea as to how to continue this book but I promise, I'll sooner die than delete it. Oh, and thanks to my sister for typing the last chapter. I love you girl!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

**P.S. have any of you seen the show the Cake Boss? Well, yeah, I went to the bakery today and it was awesome! I even got to skip school!**

**P.P.S. I think I will be doing the rest of the book in third person POV. Just as a little head's up.**

Fang had to drive home with Max in the backseat with Meredith. Max had been in the hospital for a couple more days and then she and Meredith had been discharged. Meredith was on the passenger side of the car so that Fang could watch her. Caleb was behind Fang and Max was in the middle.

Fang was convinced that Max would have to hand the reigns to Fang because she would get so wiped out. She still had little energy and was only eating one meal a day if that gives you an idea of how tired she was. Her hair was limp and she had dark circles under her eyes. "Fang, did you pick up those diapers like I asked you to?" she asked him for about the twentieth time that day.

"Yes honey." He said patiently, struggling to not let some irritation show in his voice but he knew better.

"Good. Can you order some pizza for you and Caleb tonight?" she asked.

"Yes, but what are you going to eat?"

"I'm not hungry. I'll have my hands full with Meredith anyway."

This homecoming for the newborn was different from last time. Max wasn't as excited and Fang understood why but did she have to be so damn melodramatic about it? Every time she said Meredith's name she just said it to say, not to be happy that they had a daughter. It was killing Fang inside and for the first time in his life he did not know how to fix it. He thought maybe he could buy her some flowers and chocolate and take her to dinner but that would not work when she had to take care of a baby.

"Hey Max? Remember me? Yeah, my name is Fang. I'm your husband and I'm not only Caleb's father but Meredith's too." Fang said, getting annoyed that she was rendering him useless herself.

"I don't appreciate the attitude Fang." Max shot back.

"Well I don't appreciate you forgetting that I can help you."

Max was silent for the rest of the ride home.

_Three Months Later_

"Fang!" Max called as she walked through the door. Fang stepped out of the nursery with Meredith on his hip and Caleb holding on to his leg like his life depended on it. He was wailing and screaming for Fang to get him a cookie.

"We need a bigger house." He said breathlessly.

Max didn't smile at him as she dumped her purse in the kitchen and went to answer the phone that had started to ring.

"Don't answer that! It's Ms. Thomas next door begging us to shut the kids up." Fang yelled at Max.

"If Caleb is screaming about wanting a cookie," Max said, reaching to the top of the refrigerator for the cookie jar. She took one out and gave it to Caleb who immediately let go of Fang's leg and went to play on his Leap Frog in the family room. "Then you give him a damn cookie. It is that simple."

"It never worked that way with the flock." Fang complained.

"Yeah, well, this isn't exactly the flock now is it?" she asked as she went into her bedroom to change out of her work clothes.

"I'm doing the best I can Max. You know Caleb likes you more."

She huffed as she emerged from the bathroom with just a bra and sweatpants on. "Caleb likes you just as much as he likes me so stop saying that he favors one of us more so than the other. It's rude. No wonder you are so grumpy all the time."

"I'm the grumpy one? Have you listened to yourself lately? You do realize that we haven't had sex in a year, right?" Fang asked.

"Oh my gosh! Yes Fang, I do know that because you tell me that three times a day and I am getting sick of it!" Max yelled.

Fang rolled his eyes and gave Meredith to Max before going into the bathroom to take a shower, leaving Max alone in their bedroom.

That night after Max put Meredith to sleep and tucked Caleb in; she climbed into bed next to Fang. He was pretending to be asleep; his muscles were still tight in his back. She slowly stroked his arm and whispered, "So, I've been thinking about what you said earlier." She paused, waiting for him to answer. He didn't so she went on. "About me being upset all the time. Well, you're right and I have been wrong to take my anger out on you and…well…I miss you." She said slowly, hoping that Fang would grasp the double meaning of the last words she said.

He slowly rolled over and faced her. "I was too hard on you. I should have…I don't know…been more supportive. It's just that getting used to having two kids in the house has been a lot harder than I thought it would be."

She nodded and snuggled closer to him. "From now on, I promise I'll be happier and more cooperative."

"So you'll stop snapping at me?" Fang asked. It was dark but Max could hear the smile in his voice.

"Depends on what kind of snapping your talking about." She said, climbing on top of him and straddling his waist. "If you mean talking, than yes." Now she was stroking his face and chest. "But if you mean this kind, I can't make any promises." She whispered as she bent down to kiss Fang's neck.

"And I am perfectly okay with that." He whispered, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist and rolling over so he was on top of her.

They woke up in the morning to someone pounding on the front door. Meredith was crying and Caleb ran into their bedroom. "Mommy! Daddy! Somebody wants to come inside!"

Max groaned as she stretched and reached over to slap Fang. "I know I know." He grumbled. He climbed out of the bed and walked down the hallway as Max followed. She went into the nursery to calm Meredith down.

Fang unlocked the door and went outside, closing it behind him so he could talk to Iggy alone. "Thanks for coming." He said to Iggy.

"No problem. But, uh, why aren't we inside?"

Fang was quiet. "She's better today Iggy. I'm not sure she really needs you today."

"She'll need me eventually though. You do realize that, right?"

Fang nodded. "But she's herself again. She even slapped me this morning to get out of bed."

Iggy raised his eyebrows. "She slept with you last night? I thought you said that she has been sleeping on the couch."

"We didn't exactly sleep much."

Now Iggy was quiet. For the past three months Fang had been leaning on Iggy to keep his head screwed on straight. They both knew that Max was in a depression and she needed help but they were scared of telling her. So the day before Fang had called Iggy and said that they would talk to Max that day but then she got better and it seemed that maybe they would not need to talk to her after all. Iggy sighed. "We should still talk to her."

Fang nodded in agreement. "But when? I'm scared that if we tell her now she'll get pissed and she'll forget how amazing last night was."

"Well, the only thing we can do about it now is pray that this new, or I guess it would be the old, Max stays with us." Iggy said.

_**~Please Read This Note; It Has Info About Angel in it!~**_

**Hey. Yeah, it took me like, three days to write that but you would never believe why! I have found the first eight chapters of Angel on James Patterson's website! Just go to his new releases, find Angel and it's all in the excerpts section. The last chapter, is um…interesting. Check it out and let me know what you think when you review!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	19. Chapter 16

**It's Christmas time, so this is going to be a Christmas chapter. I really have no idea of what time of year it is in this book just because I haven't really been keeping track. If you would like to go back to the third or fourth chapter of Ten Years Later and count from there, by all means go ahead. **

**No one? No one? That's what I thought. So don't judge!**

**P.S. this chapter will be in first person from Max. Merry Christmas!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

We all went to Mom's house for Christmas two months later which meant that Fang and I had to transport the presents for our extremely spoiled children there. Caleb had already given his to us. It was just a picture of a star with rainbow colored points. It was simple things like that that always made me happy that I had kids.

On Christmas Eve we were loading all of our presents into the car around eleven thirty, trying to pass time so we could do our Christmas kiss. It was something that Fang and I had done since our first Christmas together four years ago. Meredith and Caleb were spending the night at Mom's so that we had less to do in the morning and also because Fang had a surprise for me.

It was surprisingly cold outside. Cold enough for me to need a sweatshirt and gloves to keep me warm. I was carrying a box that weighed about thirty pounds to the car and swayed slightly when I stepped out into the cold. I got to the car and started to lift the box when I suddenly blacked out and lost my balance. I would have dropped the box if Fang hadn't been right behind me and caught it at the last second with his spare hand.

He gently set both boxes on the ground and put an arm around my shoulders. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded and stood up. I bent down to pick up a box but Fang beat me to it. "No, you go upstairs and lie down. These are the last two boxes so I'll lock the car."

"Okay." I said, walking back to our building. I lay on the couch once in our apartment and waited for Fang to come back. I must have fallen asleep because I don't remember him coming in. I just remember his warm fingers stroking my face to wake me up. I smiled at him.

"Are you ready for your present?" he whispered in my ear.

I nodded eagerly. I sat up and watched as he knelt down on the floor on both knees and pulled something out of his pocket. "I know these past several months have been extremely difficult for the two of us but I'm glad that we have put those moments of frustration behind us. I got this for your birthday but I just can not wait any longer to give it to you." He said, opening the black box, revealing the most beautiful necklace I had ever seen. It was simple though. It was a silver chain with one purple jewel in the center of a pair of wings. It was truly beautiful.

"I love it." I whispered.

"Really?"

I nodded before – to my utter humiliation, even though it was just Fang and I – I started to cry. "Hey, don't cry honey." He whispered, closing the box and setting it on the table next to him so he could sit on the couch beside me and hold me in his arms. He rested his chin on my head and stroked my head. I sniffed and he asked, "Why are you crying?"

"Because I don't deserve you." I admitted.

"How could you ever think that? I am the one that doesn't deserve you."

I shook my in disagreement. "No way. You are way too good to me for all of the times I have screwed up."

"I have screwed up more and you have always given me a second chance."

"You did the same!" I exclaimed.

The big clock in the corner chimed and we both looked over. It was midnight. It was officially Christmas. Fang quickly bent his head to kiss me fiercely, his fingers wrapping in my hair. He pulled me up off of the couch but he did it too quickly because I got a head rush and collapsed back onto the couch. He didn't take this that way though.

He thought that I was in the 'mood.' He stripped off his shirt and hovered over me and continued to kiss me even after I had stopped. "Fang, stop." He didn't. "Fang, I can't breathe. Stop please." I pleaded. He still didn't stop. I yanked on his hair hard. He yelped and stopped kissing me.

"What's your problem?" he asked frustrated.

"I don't feel good."

"I thought you wanted to have sex."

"No. That was me nearly fainting stupid." I told him.

Fang jumped off of me and onto the floor like I'd shocked him. "Shit. I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "Just…Can you just take me to bed?"

He smiled grimly before standing up. He put his shirt back on before picking me up off of the couch and carrying me to our bed bridal style. I had to hand it to him, after my pregnancies I had gained about twenty pounds altogether but he never failed at making carrying me look easy.

Christmas morning began with breakfast in bed, courtesy of Fang. I was feeling a little better but I really only wanted pizza so my darling husband wrapped up the other food in foil to save it for later and had a pizza delivered from the closest pizzeria which was, unfortunately, twenty minutes away.

I felt a little nauseated when I sat up but my head wasn't spinning, otherwise I knew Fang would joke about if I had a drink the night before and I was hungover. We both had been drunk together before and knew what we were like when we were so it was easy to tell if one of us ever was drunk.

Around ten o'clock we were dressed and showered and arrived at Mom's house courtesy of Fang's speeding. Whenever he wanted to drive fast he claimed the car just needed air underneath the hood but both of us knew that if we were ever pulled over we could just tell the cop that we were on our way to save the world. We were easily enough recognized any cop would believe us.

Upon arriving at the house we were showered with hugs and kisses and Christmas wishes from everyone. Nudge, who had announced that she was pregnant a few months before, was starting to show a little baby bump and was still socially awkward but she was so uncomfortable so she kept a distance. Despite her reclusive mood she managed to talk to us nonstop from across the room. Gazzy and Iggy went right outside to unload the rest of our presents while Mom hugged me tightly. Jeb shook hands with Fang and kissed me on the cheek.

His hair had recently gone completely gray and he wore bifocals but he never failed at looking like the same old Jeb. Except now he had dark shadows underneath his eyes and his forehead had frown lines. After Ella had died, he moved in with Mom to take care of her but he could not help the sorrow in the house, especially with Iggy being around all of the time too.

Caleb instantly ran to us and hugged both of us around our legs and refused to let go of Fang until Fang started to walk to the Christmas tree to put presents there. Meredith was carried in by Nudge and I smiled at her, taking her in my arms and kissing her forehead.

The day went by in a blur and soon enough it was dinner time. I was sitting in a chair watching Gazzy rub Nudge's feet on the floor when Fang plopped down next to me with Meredith in his arms. Mom was no more than ten feet away watching Iggy baste the turkey closely.

"You feeling better?" Fang asked me, casually putting an available arm around my shoulders.

I was about to answer but Nudge beat me to it. "Why wouldn't she be?" she asked.

"It was nothing." I quickly said.

"Yeah, if nothing is nearly fainting when we are kissing."

Gazzy laughed. "Take it as a compliment Fang." Neither Fang nor I laughed, but Nudge did. "You doctors are always so serious."

I rolled my eyes. "Really, I feel much better now."

"Yeah, I hope so. Do you want any pizza?" Fang asked me.

Again, I was about to answer but Mom cut me off this time. "Why would she want pizza?" she asked, facing us and leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Again, it's nothing." I said forcefully, giving Fang a death glare that he ignored.

"That's what she wanted for breakfast."

"You hate eating pizza for breakfast!" Gazzy said, obviously upset that I had broken my number one rule from when he was a kid.

"It's just that I was craving some good pizza."

Everyone was quiet after I had said that with varying expressions of fright on their faces. Like they wanted to ask me something but they didn't know how to.

"Max, um…you can't be pregnant, can you?" Nudge finally whispered.

"Why would you think that?" I exclaimed.

"Well, all of the signs are there really. You haven't been feeling well, you're acting kind of snappy, and you've been having food cravings." Nudge said.

"I'd rather we didn't talk about this before dinner." Gazzy said but we ignored him.

"I'm on the pill Nudge." Everyone was quiet again, almost like they knew something I did not. "I am on the pill, right?" I asked Fang, remembering that he had been getting my birth control prescriptions for the last several months. But Fang wasn't looking at me; he was looking at Iggy who was looking in Fang's general direction. "What did you do?" I asked him.

Nobody dared to answer. Nudge stood up and was about to leave with Gazzy right behind her but I yelled, "Nobody is leaving this room until someone tells me the truth!" They sat down slowly next to each other. "So I guess you guys don't want dinner then." I said decisively. It was still silent. The doorbell rang, making all of us jump.

"I'm here!" Angel yelled after Jeb let her in. She walked into the kitchen and looked at us with concern. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

_Angel, tell me right now. What is Fang thinking?_ I thought to her. But I wasn't the only one looking at her seriously. Fang, Mom and Iggy were all looking at her the same way. _Ignore them Angel. _I thought_. Just tell me the truth._

"Oh my gosh! Everyone get out of my head!" she yelled.

Caleb appeared in the doorway and walked over to Fang and clung onto his sweater. Angel was fuming and finally she answered me. _Fang switched your birth control pill out for an anti-depressant. _

_He. Did. What?_ I thought angrily.

_He was really worried about you Max. It was originally Dr. Snyder's and Iggy's idea. You were depressed but none of us knew what to tell because we knew you wouldn't believe us._

"I cannot believe you did this." I whispered at Fang who bowed his head. "You betrayed me." I stood up and walked out of the room. I turned around just when I reached the door and said to him, "And by the way, I am pregnant. I was planning on telling you later tonight when we were alone dumbass."

**I kind of liked making this chapter. Christmas gave me the leverage I needed to develop the plot for the rest of the book. So what do you think? Is this baby going to survive? You're going to have to keep reading to find out. **

**Remember, it's the giving season so do you guys think you can give me some reviews? That'd be awesome. Merry Christmas!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	20. Chapter 17

**I honestly don't know what I'm going to put in this chapter. So let's see how this go.**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

I sat down on the loveseat in the living room with my face buried in my hands. Caleb walked up to me and patted my knee. "Mommy?"

I sniffed and looked at him. "Yeah honey?" I asked.

"You still love Daddy right?"

I smiled at him grimly and smoothed his hair. "I will always love Daddy. Just like I will always love you." He giggled and jumped up and down before running down the hallway and disappearing around the corner. Fang appeared in the door.

He sighed before coming and sitting next to me, squeezing my knee. "And I will always love you." He whispered, looking me in the eye.

I shook my head. "You did the right thing."

"That's what I wanted to hear." He said, wrapping both arms around me and pulling my head to lean against his chest. He stroked my hair and kissed my forehead. "Another baby." He whispered.

"Yep." I breathed. "Do you think we can handle it?"

"Of course we can handle it. We've taken care of four kids before." He said confidently.

"_I've_ taken care of _five_ people and barely kept any of them alive."

He laughed. "Don't sell yourself so short. We are all still aren't we?"

"Who knows? I mean, I feel like I'm in Heaven right now." I whispered, knowing just what Fang was going to say.

"Hey now, corny alert." He said and despite his reaction he kissed me, lifting my chin up so that he didn't have to bend down as much. Our kiss was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. "Hold on." He said as he quickly retrieved his phone from his pocket. "Dr. Ride," he said as he answered. "What? Today is my day off…yes I am aware of that…I don't know…probably not…no, I don't want her to…fine, we'll be there in ten minutes." Fang hung up. "We need to be at the hospital." He said quickly before standing up and hurrying into the kitchen to get my purse and jacket. He kissed Meredith and Caleb goodbye before running outside to get the car started.

"What's going on?" Angel asked.

"I have no idea. Can someone please keep the kids over night?" I asked to the entire room.

"Sure, Gazzy and I can do it. Good practice for the future right?" Nudge laughed.

I kissed Mom on the cheek and went to leave but she grabbed my wrist…hard. "Call me when you get home." It wasn't a question, it was an order.

"I will, promise." Why was she so pissed at me?

I raced out the door after saying quick goodbyes to Caleb and Meredith and jumped into the car.

"I'm taking you home and then I'm going to the hospital." Fang said, eyes glued to the road.

"What? No!"

"You should take it easy." Fang said aggressively.

I scoffed. "You don't have enough time! What if your presence is urgent?"

"And what if you do overwork yourself? Do you want another baby like Alex?"

I retracted from him like he had punched me in the gut when it really felt like he had ripped open my chest and pulled out my heart. "Excuse me?" I yelled.

He opened his mouth like he was about to say it again but then he looked over at me and his gaze immediately softened. I kept gazing out of the windshield when he said "Oh God, Max I—"

"Watch out!" I screamed, grabbing the wheel to steer us away from the man standing in the middle of the road. Just standing there. Fang snapped his attention back to keeping the car steady. But what is the biggest problem about Jeep Wranglers? They are extremely top-heavy. The car leaned to my side and then to the other before rocking back to my side. I held my breath as I looked out Fang's window and saw the ground rushing at it. He instinctively reached out an arm to secure me as his window smashed against the road, quickly followed by his body hitting it. There were a few seconds of silence before I realized what had happened and that Fang was not moving.

I took hold of the handle by my door and undid my seatbelt so I could punch out my window and climb out. The man was still there in the road but did not approach. I started to think that I was imagining him. After climbing out I looked at the Jeep and did quick math in my head. I could lift approximately three thousand pounds but I was afraid that if I tried to tip the van back upright it would land on the other side or come back and land on me. "Don't worry Fang, I'll get you out somehow." I whispered, peering in through the cracked windshield.

Then I could smell oil in the air. "Shoot." I whipped my phone out and dialed 911. "Emergency services, how may I help you?"

"Yes, I would like to report a tipped car on Dougas Road." I said as calmly as I could.

"Okay ma'am, are there any injuries on the scene."

"Yes." I answered after quickly inspecting Fang's head and seeing a deep gash along his collarbone.

"Any deaths?"

The question brought my heart to a brief stop. "I don't know. We just need an ambulance here ASAP."

"It will be there right away ma'am."

I hung up before she could ask any other questions and climbed back into the Jeep. I found my purse lying upside down underneath Fang's feet. I dug out my flashlight and switchblade. I cut Fang's seatbelt and tried to hoist him over the stick shift but was unsuccessful. Propping both feet up on the middle console I tugged on him to try to free him. "Come on Fang, now would be a good time for you to wake up so you could help me." I whispered in his ear.

So of course he doesn't wake up. I huffed and left him laying across both seats and found the source of my problem: the plastic under Fang's seat was broken and trapping Fang's foot. This brought me back to the time we were in Antarctica and Angel was stuck in the crevasse. I knew then that pulling her out would break her ankle and I knew now that pulling Fang out would break his ankle. I didn't want to hurt him but I knew that I could help him if I got of the car and we really could not wait for the ambulance to arrive because he was losing so much blood.

I pulled out my cell phone again and called Gazzy. "Gazzy," I said urgently, not even waiting for him to greet me, "I need you to come to Dougas Road now. Fly here as fast as you can. I'll explain when you get here."

In less than forty-five seconds Gazzy landed behind me on the road. So far I'd had no success whatsoever with freeing Fang. "What's wrong?" he barked in my ear.

It was a stupid question in the general sense but I knew what he was really asking. "Fang's foot is stuck. I can't get him out so I need you to open the trunk, get out our Hail Mary box and pull out my IV equipment." Gazzy did as I told him and handed it to me. I pulled out my needle and aimed it at him but he quickly shrunk away.

"Why can't you do it yourself?" he demanded.

"Because I'm pregnant and therefore I can't donate any blood." I told him before sticking him with the needle. I put the now full syringe in a plastic bag before taking out a tube and putting it in the inside of Fang's elbow on a vein. I shoved the needle into the tube and demanded, "Keep pressure on that." I said before jumping in the Jeep and climbing down to where Fang's foot was stuck. I grabbed a hammer out of the glove compartment and started to smash the plastic, being extremely careful to not hit his ankle.

"Max, it's empty!" Gazzy called to me.

"Pull it out and take another pint!" I ordered.

"But the needle—"

"Just do it Gazzy!" I shouted.

Finally the piece that was trapping Fang's foot broke free and his foot immediately popped out of the seat. "Okay." I whispered, climbing back to the top as I started to hear the sirens of the ambulance from a few miles away.

Gazzy quickly injected the blood he was able to take into the IV and chucked the needle aside. Then we both grabbed Fang under his arms and pulled him out of the Jeep and laid him on the road. Our arms were covered in blood from another gash in his left wing. I wiped sweat from my forehead and put my fingers to Fang's neck to feel for a pulse…but there wasn't one there.

**I practically cried typing this. Review please!**


	21. Chapter 18

**Um, so I've been taking a little break from my other story so I can hopefully finish this one. Soon. Soon would be nice, I think we could all agree on that, right?**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

A few days later I had finished filling out paperwork and cleaned most of the accumulated junk out of Fang's office. That junk consisted of old lunches, old sodas, old papers, money – which I put in my purse, not the trashcan – and an old stethoscope that didn't work. I had gotten to be very bored so I decided to go on his computer and look at his old blog that he hadn't updated since he was seventeen…assuming that my math was correct which it most likely wasn't.

Dr. Snyder walked in slowly, sitting down across from me at the desk. "So, another baby?"

I nodded and kept reading. "That's the word on the street."

"You don't know for sure yet?" she gaped.

"No." I said, shaking my head but still avoiding her gaze. "I was just saying, it seems like everyone knows. And I know that news travels fast here but the only people that knew don't even work here, so that's kinda weird, don't you think?"

"You're rambling."

"I know." I groaned, slouching down in my seat and covering my face with my arm.

"I'm sorry to hear about Fang." Dr. Snyder said.

"Yeah, how long is his surgery again?" I asked, looking at her for the first time.

She laughed. "He's out. But you can't see him yet. He is still asleep and he'll probably need to get more tests done."

"Can't I watch?" I complained.

"No, you can't watch. It is not your area of expertise."

"I won't critique, I'll just watch."

She smiled. "The doctors will take care of him Max. He's their boss, remember?"

I smiled too. "I remember."

"So how far along are you?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. Probably about nine weeks." I didn't really put much thought into it because I didn't know when I was actually knocked up.

"Well, I feel like you need a cup of coffee but you can't have any so I will just enjoy mine myself." She gloated.

I laughed. "I don't want coffee really. I just want sleep and a beer."

"It's your own damn fault that you don't have sleep. You don't have to sleep here every night until Fang is discharged."

"Damn. Don't you know not to curse around a pregnant woman?"

We both laughed as another doctor knocked on the door and told me that I could see my husband.

I walked into his room and smiled at the sight of him being alive. "Hey. Long time no see."

He gave me a weak smile. "Right back at ya'."

"How're you feeling?"

"Fine. Except for the three staples in my side, stitches in my wing and neck and the splitting headache that I have despite all of the drugs they've put me on."

"Mm. It's good to know that despite all of that you are still your jerky self."

He laughed weakly. "Yeah, well someone has to keep your spirits lifted around here, right?"

I got serious as I stroked his bruised cheek. "You really scared me."

"I can't exactly control when I do and do not die but I love you too."

"I think they've put you on quite enough drugs judging by how you're acting now. I think I'll wait to let you see Caleb."

"No, I want to see him!" he whined.

I rolled my eyes and looked away. "Fang?"

"Yeah?" He could sense my unease and looked at me with wide eyes and – thought he would never admit it – fear. He knew that whatever had me freaked out should have him freaked out.

"Did you see that man in the middle of the road?"

He sighed and bit down on his lip as if he was choosing his words carefully. "I did, faintly. I don't remember much of what happened to be honest." I pondered this and then he gasped making me jump and look him over quickly. "I'm fine." He assured me. "I was just thinking that he didn't attack you did he?"

I shook my head. "While I was saving your ungrateful butt, he just stood there and looked at me. I don't know what he was doing there."

"What if he wanted that to happen?" Fang asked.

"I don't know, but if this has anything to do with Déjà vu—"

He groaned. "Max you were supposed to kill him!"

"I did!" I said quickly, not wanting to reopen old fights. "But it could be one of his posse!"

"Someone that didn't mind risking their life to kill us which meant that they could get Caleb and Meredith. Almost like a suicide bomber."

I nodded in agreement. "Thank God that Caleb and Meredith were not with us. At least they were with Iggy and Nudge and Angel. People that could protect them."

We were quiet for a few minutes and then someone yelled from the door "Daddy!" Caleb ran to the bed and hugged Fang's arm.

"Hey buddy." Fang said, picking Caleb up with one arm and sitting him on his lap.

"Daddy, are you sick?" he asked.

"No Ace, I'm not sick." Fang told him.

"But why are you in bed?"

Fang was about to answer when Nudge walked in with Meredith. "Caleb, can you go sit with Mommy so I can see Meredith?"

"No, Mommy is sick!" Caleb said stubbornly.

Fang rolled his eyes and pushed Caleb – gently – in my direction. I picked him up and sat him in my lap as Nudge put Meredith in Fang's good arm. Nudge walked out and as Meredith began to fuss our eyes met and I knew that our conversation was far from over.

A couple days later Fang was discharged and told to stay at home for a couple weeks to recuperate. I was given a reprieve so that I could take care of him and the kids and in those two weeks our small family had the most fun we had ever had together. But I still had the feeling that the other shoe hadn't dropped yet and with every passing day I was wound tighter and tighter. Because in my life, it was always too good to be true. And I would soon find out that I was right.

**I know it was kind of boring and short. But still review please! Happy new year!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


	22. Chapter 19

**Nothing much to say. Watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Degrassi! Woo!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

_Seven Months Later_

Almost every part of my body hurt. I was laying in bed at home listening to Fang putting our new son, Zachary Nicholas Ride, to sleep in his crib. Meredith and Caleb were sharing a room and Zach had his own nursery where Fang's old office was.

Fang walked in holding some saltines and two glasses of water on a breakfast tray. "Here my love." He whispered to me, sitting on the edge of the bed so he could stroke my hair gently. "Do you need anything?"

I shook my head. Fang got up and laid down next to me, circling his arms around my waist. "Are you sure you don't need anything?"

"Actually, can you rub my shoulders?" I admitted

He laughed. "Of course honey." He said, pulling me up against his chest so he could rub my shoulders and neck.

"Thank you." I whispered. "For everything."

"I should be saying the same thing to you, but I can only express my gratitude one way. So I was thinking, maybe tomorrow night, your mom and Iggy could take the kids so we could have some alone time? You know, alone _alone _time."

I giggled as he kissed my neck lightly. "I should say yes…"

"I'm sensing a but."

I nodded. "Zach is only a few days old."

"It's nothing new to Iggy and Dr. M."

Sighing, I said, "Believe me, I know that. Maybe if they can come here and we can go there we could."

"Sounds perfect. The perfect Heaven is right here beside me."

"Well look at Positive Pete. Had a change of heart have we?"

Fang just laughed as he continued to rub my neck. Then Zachary started to cry.

"Heaven is gone." I said, stretching and groaning as I climbed out of bed to tend to my son.

* * *

The next night did not go well at all. Mom and Iggy accepted the challenge gladly but didn't arrive at the apartment until an hour after they had planned to be there. They apologized about a thousand times before we told them to shut up so we could leave. We were in Fang's Mustang and he sped down the road to the hotel where he had booked our reservations.

But when we arrived there, it wasn't a hotel at all. It was an abandoned warehouse. The kind that you see in those horror movies and you yell at the stupid boy and girl that go in there even though you know they'll get killed. Fang and I looked at each other with the same questions in our eyes. He reached across me to get his gun out of the glove department and though I expected him to tuck it into his pants he handed it to me. "Take it; I can take care of myself."

I decided not to argue as we both got out of the car. We opened the door to the warehouse; it creaked on its hinges. Fang disappeared from sight and I hid behind the closed door. "Follow me." He whispered urgently to me.

I heard his hand slip across the edge of the door and took a deep breath before stepping out from my hiding place. There was a scuffle on the floor and I gasped when my eyes adjusted to the dark.

"Max no!" Fang yelled but it was too late, I had fallen in the trap.

"You'll shut up if you know what's good for you." A husky voice threatened and then an arm looped around my waist. But it wasn't Fang's comforting embrace that I expected. It was a captor's rough grip than through me to the floor. My head cracked on the cement and I saw stars. I didn't have time to recover and attack my captor before rough hands bound my wrists and ankles together and threw me into a cage. They cut my binds as I heard Fang thud down next to me.

Two doors banged shut and all was quiet. "We're alone." Fang whispered.

I nodded, even though he probably couldn't see it.

"Max, I swear I didn't know about this."

"I know." I whispered, mostly to myself. I curled my knees up to my chest and fought to not think about my children.

"They'll be okay. They're with Iggy and he has Angel and Dylan on speed dial if anything happens." Fang assured me, sensing my thoughts in that annoying way of his.

"I know, I just can't—"

"Help but worry, I know." Fang finished for me. He searched for my shoulder and pulled me towards him. "We'll get out of here. Do you still have—"

"Yeah." I said quickly, not wanting our captors to hear that we had a gun. "I don't understand, why do they want us?"

"It's not a matter of wanting us, it's a matter of wanting our children."

My heart fluttered as it usually did whenever Fang said _our_ children but my stomach dipped in worry. "Only Meredith…" I said, letting the sentence dangle.

I could sense Fang nodding.

"I love you." I whispered to him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"No." he said strongly. "We are not saying our goodbyes yet."

We both knew where his mistake was as soon as it was out. The greatest weapon is weakness; well these people had us. We couldn't fight half as well when we were worrying about our family and they knew it. We would die in that warehouse, and we both knew it. We knew it before Fang had said _yet_. We knew it before we were thrown in a cage. We even knew, somewhere deep down, that we would be dying sooner rather than later when we took our first steps into that decrepit place.

With that, the lights turned on.

**Oh no! Review please. I know, another cliffy!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

**~aCupofCompassion4malawi~**


	23. Chapter 20

**A Cup of Compassion was a huge hit! We raised over two thousand dollars for the orphanage and the girl that we are helping was even able to talk to us via cell phone and her boyfriend holding the phone up to the microphone so we could hear her cry. I am so happy I was choking back tears all night.**

**~Mission4malawiGRL~**

Two days later there was a group of eight people gathered in a hospital room in Phoenix. They were gathered around a single bed, not talking, not even the man lying in the bed. All he did was sit and listen to the beeping of the heart monitor. Nobody knew what to say. They had all arrived at the same time with the same looks of heartbreak on their faces. Never had they felt this kind of pain before, not even Iggy. This pain could not be put into words like most other emotional pain, but the closest word they could think of was hopelessness.

What would they do now? Their one savior was gone. Who would be there to always rescue them?

One of the men in the room was clutching a paper tightly, almost as if his life depended on it. He looked around the room before handing it to the man in the hospital bed.

"I don't want it." Fang protested in a hoarse voice.

Dylan retreated, still holding the paper.

"Read it out loud." Fang ordered.

Dylan nodded and cleared his throat as he bent his head down to read.

_This is it. How many times in my life have I thought those words before? Ten times? Twenty, fifty, one hundred? Either way, I was lying to myself then. Now I am telling myself the whole truth. Life has obviously given up on me and has decided to deal me with a bloody, lonely death. _

_ Here I am again, sitting alone in a cage listening to Fang's torturous screams from where he was being abused in another room. How many times have I experienced this before? It is true now though that his pain is my pain. Every scream cuts into me so deeply I'm surprised that when I look down at my body I'm not bleeding. How can I reach out to him and assure him that everything is okay, that everything will be okay when every nerve in my body knows that it will never be okay?_

_ I guess part of me has always known that my life would end this way but I also guess that I hoped that because I saved the world it wouldn't. It is so utterly humiliating to know that me, the world's savior, is going to die in a cage and – _

_ I just cringed so badly the pen slipped out of my hand; Fang is yelling my name now. _

_ So this is really the end I suppose. I've done everything I've wanted to in life. I saved the world – even I really didn't want to do that but it was expected of me to say the least – I fell in love, I had my heart broken – that was not something I wanted to do either – then I fell in love again with the same person, I was reunited with my soul mate, I got married, I got a good job, I saw everyone in the flock start their own families except for little Angel (but if you read this Angel, there is no rush on that) I got to have a family of my own, and most importantly, I got to see Fang genuinely happy._

_ It will be tonight. I know it will be. Fang and I have already worked everything out; I will point the gun at the men, they will shoot me and let him go. It has to be that way. _

_ If you are all reading this right now, always remember that I love you all and I always have. Even when you guys booted me out of the flock, even when Nudge ran away for two days, even when Angel dated Sam, and even whenever I said that I hated you._

_ Jeb, I love you too. You have been and always will be my father and you have no idea how much that means to me. Even though for a vast majority of my life I hated you, I learned to see that everything you did was just out of love for your only daughter._

_ Mom, I have nothing else to say to you but thank you. Words can't describe how thankful I am that you took all of us into your life and accepted us for who we are…the mutant freaks that clean out your cupboards every time they visit. Ha-ha. _

_ Fang, I love you. This is an entirely different kind of love than what I just mentioned. I love you even though by the time you read this I will probably be long gone. I've loved you ever since you sat in that bloody dog crate next to mine when we were six years old and you told me the stupidest jokes I have ever heard. I loved you when Ari nearly killed you in New York. I loved you when Ari tried to kill you again and you almost did die. I loved you when I thought you were kicking me out of the flock too. I loved you when you left me. My love for you prevailed for an entire decade and then I loved you even more when I saw you again. _

_ My name is Maximum Ride. I saved the world, yes, and nobody even knew it. But I really have no regrets about my life. I lived it to the fullest and that is all I could have done. So remember my name. I didn't live forever like I hoped I would but I lived a life that I would have never traded for anything in the world._

The room was quiet as the group absorbed the words. But then the worst happened. The heart beat on the monitor turned into a steady drone and they all knew; Fang had decided to join his wife after all. His body shut down so he wouldn't have to feel the pain. Dr. Snyder rushed in with tears in her eyes to help Fang but quickly realized that he wanted to die.

It was over. Everything was over.

…**Review, please.**

**~Mission4malawiGRL~**


	24. The Last Epilogue: EVER

**This is the last chapter…EVER! I was going to make a poll for you guys to vote on which Maximum Ride book was your favorite but then decided that was stupid; why should I make you guys wait for the end any longer? Anyway, this epilogue has been coming on for a VERY long time and I've been writing and pasting on sticky notes around my computer screen like crazy for this last part in the little duo of books. Please review and tell me what you thought of the two books and how they ended. This is my opinion of the finale of the entire Maximum Ride series. **

**Damn. I know I don't usually curse for you guys but I'm going to miss these books. Anyway, please review! It's your last chance!**

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**

_37 Years Later_

The blonde woman stepped out of the taxi and into the blistering heat of Tucson in August. She hitched her messenger bag onto her shoulder higher and walked to her front door, jingling her keys. **(AN: Anyone know who I'm talking about?) **Immediately following her arrival in her house, her children greeted her with squeals of delight.

"Hi guys." She said. She was nearly forty and her ten-year-old twin daughters were starting to wear her out already. "Did you two behave today?"

She heard her brothers laughing from the kitchen. "Of course they behaved." The eldest said.

"After we baked a batch of grandma's cookies." The youngest of the three finished.

Meredith sighed and set her bag on the kitchen table before stealing a cookie from the cookie tray. "Hmm. They're just not the same."

Caleb and Zachary nodded in agreement. They were quiet as Melody and Harmony played in the family room. "Hey, Merri…" Zachary said with an evil smile on his face.

"What?" she asked irritably.

"You know what tomorrow is, right?" Caleb asked.

She rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "Are you ready?" she asked, eyeing their army bags in the corner.

"Duh, we're ready." The three siblings smiled evilly before Zachary said, "I can't believe my leave is almost over."

"Well it's your own damn fault you didn't get an extended one." Caleb said, punching Zachary's shoulder playfully.

"Caleb—" Meredith warned.

"Oh right, damn. No cursing. You know, I am so sorry Merri for being such an ass." Caleb whispered to her.

* * *

The next morning Caleb, Zachary and Meredith's husband, James, Melody and Harmony drove to Lake Mead. Meredith had flown over earlier that morning to help Effie and the rest of the flock to set up the picnic area.

By mid-afternoon everyone was there except for one person. "Hey, Auntie Merri?" said little Julian, tugging on Meredith's pant leg. "Where's Iggy Pa?" Meredith smiled at her ten-year-old nephew.

"I don't know."

But as she spoke, he landed on a nearby shore where he was immediately greeted by the rest of the flock and Dylan. His son and daughter were next to greet him, followed by his grandchildren.

After everyone ate and the sun had set, everyone gathered around a large bonfire, courtesy of Nudge and Gazzy's son, Bobby, and sat quietly as the flock plus Meredith, Caleb and Dylan sat and watched Iggy stroke the old book's binding delicately.

"Does anyone remember where we were?" Iggy asked.

Everyone shook their head except for little Jane, Angel's six-year-old granddaughter. "We were at the part in the—"

"Sh!" Iggy ordered. "You want it to be a surprise right?" he asked and all of the kids laughed while he passed the book to Meredith. "It's all your's." he told her.

She smiled. "Thanks Uncle Iggy." She opened the book and began to read. "_See, when you're an evil, endlessly funded insane scientist, you have both means and the motive to, say, suddenly gas a whole room of hostage bird kids. Causing bird kids to pass out without even realizing it and then wake up in a metal cage in the middle of a field. At night. Some of you have probably jumped ahead and are already at the place where you realize this happened to us, and I'm not just rattling on hypothetically, so good on ya! _

"_Unhhh._" Gazzy imitated perfectly, even though his voice was much deeper than it was at the time.

Meredith went on, "_I forced myself to sit up. There were no lights. Even the moon and stars were blocked by thick, low-lying clouds._

"_You are avake, yah?_" Dylan said in his best imitation of a German accent.

" "_Yah," I muttered, rubbing my head. "And you are still a jerk, yah?"_"

The kids laughed at Max's words, just like the flock would have if they weren't about to be killed.

The group went on like that for the rest of the night. They cried when they got to this part:

" "_Ari!" I said. "Ari! Come on, snap out of it! Please, Ari?" _" Meredith said, getting choked up. " _All around us, the battle thrashed on, but Ari was silent. "Ari?" Horrified, I pressed two fingers against his neck, feeling for a pulse. Ari's time had come. He had expired. Right here, right now, in my arms._"

The girls all sighed heavenly when they got to this part: "_We smashed together awkwardly, with Fang standing stiffly for a moment, but then his arms slowly came around me, and he hugged me back. I held him tight, trying to swallow the lump of cotton in my throat, my head on his shoulder, my eyes squeezed shut. "Don't ever leave me again," I said in a tiny voice._

"_I won't._" Caleb put in. "_I won't. Not ever."_

But everyone squirmed in anticipation when they all read in unison: "_And finally, as we fly off into the sunset, so to speak, there's only one thing for me to add: Hopefully, we'll be back. And if we are, it won't be pretty._"

"But what happens?" Melody asked.

"Yeah!" Harmony piped in. "I want to know what happens next!"

Meredith laughed as James put both of his arms around their shoulders. "You two already know what happens. You're Max's grandchildren, after all. But I guess we'll let the others just keep on guessing."

Meredith nodded at James in approval. Silently, he stood up and took her hand. They both extended their wings; Meredith's black and white marble and James's brown and tan shadings and took off into the air.

Dylan put an arm around his wife, Katherine and they both smiled up at James and Meredith who were now difficult to pick out from the circling hawks. Dylan looked over at the tree where the flock had carved Max and Fang's names into the bark and smiled gaily at his son, knowing that Max and Fang were doing the same to Meredith from wherever they were.

Yes, Dylan still loved Max but as a sister. All that mattered to Dylan was that James was happy with Meredith and that they lived their happily ever after.

* * *

Max and Fang watched from the shadows at their family laughing and having a good time. They had watched their family for the last thirty-eight years. They had watched Iggy's hair slowly turn grayer, they had watched Caleb and Zachary gallantly join the army, they had even watched their daughter and Dylan's son get married. All that mattered to them was that they were together forever. They would be forever young. They would be forever and ever…the mutant bird kids. But the happy mutant bird kids.

**OMG! That's the end! Please review. Just a couple of things before I say my final farewell:**

**Check out my sister's other story: Better Than Revenge…please.**

**Disclaimer (because I didn't want to give away one of the best parts): I don't own anything in the Maximum Ride books.**

**Thanks so much for being there guys! Love you all! 3**

**LionetteGRL=eternity**


	25. Author's Note

**This is a big ol' author's note, I know. You have probably already noticed it but I have a couple of important things to say…rather, my sister does I'm just doing it for her. **

**She will be writing one-shot companions to the story, one or two just give her time to get to them, because, you know, she is busy writing the other books that are currently on her book, so if you haven't read them…READ THEM! Please.**

**SEE ABOVE ABOUT READING HER OTHER BOOKS.**

**PennStateGRL4eva is not aware of this, but have any of you seen how the finale to the Maximum Ride series doesn't come out until 2012? Yeah, okay, is Angel the finale or not because if it is we will NEED to start a petition and send it to James Patterson to tell him to sit down and write this book! If we can he can. The End. But still, I am not going to wait for more than a year for a book when I already basically have.**

**Lastly, I noticed that the new Fang paperback edition has special snippets of Angel so if any of you have it, maybe you can…you know…hit me up? No, sike, just kidding. I guess I can wait a month…if Angel is not the one coming out in 2011.**

**P.S. I just reread that last sentence and realized what it said: I did not mean it that way so if you are perverted enough to understand what I am talking about, I DID NOT MEAN IT THAT WAY. And if you have no idea what I am talking about whatsoever…just stay clueless. It's always better that way.**

**So I guess that's it for now. My sister stopped talking so I suppose she's done. Let's just say she is. Thank you – on my behalf – so much for the reviews! Keep on reading!**

**~missions4MalawiGRL~**

**Okay, it's me, PennStateGRL4eva and I have a couple things to say that my sister left out. A lot of you are asking me questions on things that I apparently was not clear on.**

**Dylan's son and Max and Fang's daughter got married and have children.**

**Meredith is the ****only**** on of Max and Fang's children that has wings.\**

**Max and Fang are…sniff sniff…dead.**

**They died, well…I'll write a companion about it later.**

**Thanks for the reviews guys! **

**~PennStateGRL4eva~**


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